Mumbai: The city has witnessed a 50% drop in the registration of new cars and a 28% dip in bike purchases for Gudi Padwa, which falls on Wednesday and is considered to be an auspicious occasion when people buy vehicles.
A few car dealers, who admitted there has been a drop in footfalls for inquiries this month, said people have more options to “commute faster” as Metro lines 2A and 7 have opened in the western suburbs, and this could be one of the many reasons for a dip in registrations. Incidentally, the Metro 2A and 7 lines cater to the entirety of the western suburbs, along Western Express Highway and Link Road, and it is in this jurisdiction that the city usually witnesses the highest registration of vehicles — at the Andheri and Borivli RTOs collectively.
Public policy (transportation) analyst Paresh Rawal said people are not just waiting for better models of private vehicles to hit the market, but also want to hold on to their plans till ongoing infrastructure projects are over. “They want to evaluate if the way they commute across the city in the next one year changes once new infra projects are completed. If it will be the same kind of rush, they would then go for private vehicles,” he said. Vehicle registrations usually goes up ahead of Gudi Padwa, but not this year.
Transport expert Vivek Pai said this is a good indicator of “car registrations dropping” and the right time to encourage public transport. “The Metro lines — 1, 2A and 7 — and those coming up in a year (line 3), will be a game changer for the city. The government should encourage public transport and also buses and AC trains by offering low-price tickets and happy hours,” he suggested, adding there should be dedicated bus lanes to further dissuade people from buying private vehicles.
A car dealer from the city said prices of vehicles have also increased lately, and this was a deterrent for some buyers. He said sales had skyrocketed during the past two years of Covid as many preferred personal cars and bikes for “social distancing”, but now the Covid-19 situation has eased. “Also, 2-3 models of vehicles are launched every month, and few buyers want to wait for the electric segment to pick up,” he said. Rawal said, “Buyers are still anticipating vehicles with better battery capacity, a change in technology and battery price, and also expecting the prices of e-cars and e-bikes to go down in the near future. So, they are weighing their options before making that final call to switch to electric.”
