Retail auto sales have still not recovered from the devastations caused by the coronavirus as sales in May were 10 per cent below the levels of May 2019, the year before the pandemic.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India (FADA) said that overall sales stood at 16.46 lakh units in May, down from 18.22 lakh units in May 2019.

But in its monthly sales report, FADA said passenger vehicle sales went up 204 per cent year-on-year to 2.6 lakh units in May compared with 86,479 units in the corresponding month last year.

“May, 2022, retails when compared to May, 2019, reveal that sales are still not on a growth trajectory as overall retails were down by 10 per cent. While PV and tractors continued its positive run.... Two-wheeler, three-wheeler and CV sales are yet to show any signs of healthy run-rate,” FADA president Vinkesh Gulati said in a statement.

Retail sales of passenger vehicles grew last month but the sales of two-wheeler and commercial vehicles remained low compared to the pre-Covid month of May 2019, FADA said.

While a year-on-year comparison with May 2021 shows an exceptionally healthy growth rate across all categories, it is important to note that both May, 2021, and May, 2020, were affected by the lockdown due to the pandemic, he stated.