NEW DELHI — India's automobile dealers retailed 31,72,466 vehicles in October 2026, a 25.05% jump over September and the second-highest October tally on record, according to data released on Friday by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), The Hindu BusinessLine reported.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The headline year-on-year comparison looks weak — sales were 23.80% below October 2025 — but FADA says that decline is "almost entirely optical." Last October combined Navratri and Diwali in a single month, on top of demand pulled forward by the GST 2.0 rate cuts; this year the main festive buying season, from Dhanteras to Diwali, falls in November. "October is India's largest retail month of the year, and this year it must be read with the calendar firmly in mind," FADA President Sai Giridhar said. The FADA numbers count actual retail registrations at dealerships across every vehicle category, and follow carmakers' own reports earlier this month of record October dispatches from factories.

EVs at a record high, penetration near 11.5%

The clearest bright spot was electrification. Electric vehicle retail touched an all-time high of approximately 3.55 lakh units, up 44.88% year-on-year, lifting EV penetration to around 11.5% of all vehicle retail — roughly double the 6% share of a year ago — with best-ever Octobers for electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles alike, IANS reported. Vehicles running on alternative fuels — CNG, hybrid and electric — together took a 41.83% share of October sales, edging past petrol vehicles at 41.6%.

Source: IANS

Two-wheelers remained the volume engine at 23,21,419 units, up 29.67% over September. Commercial vehicles set a historic peak of 1,15,140 units, up 2.29% year-on-year and 11.19% month-on-month, driven by a 28.95% surge in heavy commercial vehicles; three-wheelers and tractors also posted their best-ever Octobers. Passenger vehicles retailed 5,07,768 units — their third-best October — though FADA flagged dealer inventory stuck at 43–45 days as its pressing concern.

Dealers expect the festive wave to land in November

FADA said the sharpest year-on-year falls sat exactly in the most Diwali-dependent pockets — rural two-wheeler retail fell 33.97% against an urban decline of 20.77% — which it called "the signature of demand deferred by the festival calendar, not demand destroyed." In FADA's online members' survey, 51.65% of dealers expected sales growth in November, 34.71% expected flat volumes and 13.64% expected a decline, Storyboard18 reported. With the Dhanteras-to-Diwali wave under way, FADA expects passenger-vehicle inventory to ease back towards 30 days by the end of the calendar year.

Source: Storyboard18