India's Navratri Vehicle Sales Reach 1.12 Million as EVs Grow and Car Sales Fall

A bigger sales total, but a weaker annual comparison

India recorded about 11.23 lakh vehicle sales, or 1.123 million, during the 10 days of Navratri 2026, according to provisional figures from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Sales fell 6.52% from the previous festival, while electric vehicle purchases rose 26.78% to about 1.17 lakh.

The complete festival figures update an earlier snapshot of 10.32 lakh registrations over nine days, which showed growth of 1.95% against 10.12 lakh a year earlier. The longer reporting window brought a higher sales total but a different annual comparison, with passenger vehicles and two-wheelers both finishing below their 2025 levels.

Passenger vehicle sales reached about 1.83 lakh, down 21.91%, while two-wheelers totalled about 8.34 lakh, down 2.79%. Two-wheelers still supplied nearly three out of every four vehicle sales, making them the largest part of the festive market.

FADA pointed to two important features of the comparison: Navratri lasted 11 days in 2025 against 10 days in 2026, and last year's festival coincided with a rush of purchases following goods and services tax (GST) cuts. Against Navratri 2024, before that unusual surge, total sales were 26.76% higher.

The figures leave dealers with a mixed picture ahead of Dhanteras and Diwali. Electric vehicles gained market share, several manufacturers described strong bookings, and commercial vehicle sales increased slightly. Car retailers, however, entered the festive season carrying roughly 45 days of stock, keeping pressure on the cost of financing unsold vehicles.

Why the nine day and complete festival figures differ

The earlier FADA figures, reported on October 21, covered nine days of Navratri 2026. They showed approximately 7.60 lakh two-wheelers sold, up 5.78%, and 1.72 lakh passenger vehicles, down 13.66%. Three-wheeler registrations fell 1.65% to 43,057.

The subsequent figures covered the full 10 days, including Dussehra. Total sales rose to 11.23 lakh, while the annual growth rate moved from a small increase to a decline. Both releases were provisional, and their comparison periods differed. The complete festival result is the broader measure of how the season performed.

FADA's complete figures also show why the starting year matters. Sales of 11.23 lakh were below the exceptional 2025 festival but above the 8.86 lakh recorded during Navratri 2024. Passenger vehicle sales were more than 10% above 2024, and two-wheeler sales were more than 32% higher.

FADA president Sai Giridhar described the result in terms of that earlier comparison:

Navratri'26 tells a fundamentally healthy story. At nearly 11.23 lakh units over ten days, retails are up close to 27% over Navratri'24 — the last truly comparable festive period — with PV higher by over 10% and Two-Wheelers by more than 32%,

His assessment rests on growth over two years. The annual decline captures a different development: buyers purchased fewer vehicles during this festival than during the unusually strong buying window in 2025.

How tax changes and festival dates shaped demand

The GST changes affected when customers chose to buy. Buyers delayed purchases ahead of revised rates taking effect on September 22, 2025, then returned as lower prices became available. That concentrated purchases around the tax transition and created a high base for comparison in 2026.

A high base means the earlier figure was unusually large, making subsequent growth harder to achieve. A dealership can remain busy yet record a decline if the same festival a year earlier brought an exceptional rush.

The main dates and reporting windows help explain the changing picture:

• September 22, 2025: Revised GST rates took effect, releasing purchases that customers had delayed.
• September 2026: FADA recorded strong annual growth in both two-wheelers and passenger vehicles.
• October 11, 2026: Navratri began, with the festival period including Dussehra lasting 10 days.
• October 11 to 17, 2026: An opening festive week assessment showed growth in both major vehicle categories.
• October 21, 2026: The nine day FADA figures were reported, showing total sales of 10.32 lakh.
• Complete festival figures: FADA put sales at 11.23 lakh, down 6.52% from the 11 days of Navratri 2025.

The shorter festival changes the daily comparison too. Using the rounded total of 11.23 lakh and the reported 6.52% decline gives an implied 2025 total of about 12.01 lakh. That works out to roughly 112,300 vehicles a day in 2026 against 109,200 in 2025, about 2.8% higher per day. Buyers' behaviour across individual festival days can vary, so both the total and the duration matter.

Two-wheelers dominate, while cars face a tougher comparison

Two-wheelers accounted for approximately 74% of complete festival sales, calculated from 8.34 lakh out of 11.23 lakh vehicles. Their large share explains why relatively small changes in motorcycle and scooter purchases can move the national total.

The category's 2.79% annual decline was much smaller than the 21.91% fall in passenger vehicles. Its growth of more than 32% against Navratri 2024 also exceeded the increase of more than 10% for passenger vehicles over the same period.

September had been strong for both categories. FADA recorded 17,90,188 two-wheelers, up 33.08% from September 2025, and 4,27,213 passenger vehicles, up 32.10%. The later festival figures show how sharply the annual comparison changed as purchases moved into a different calendar window.

An earlier Jefferies assessment also captured a stronger opening to the festival. Registrations from October 11 to 17, 2026, rose 23% for two-wheelers and 7% for passenger vehicles against September 22 to 28, 2025. Across two years, the assessment calculated compound annual growth of 17% and 10%, respectively. That measure describes the steady yearly growth rate that would connect the starting and ending totals.

Electric vehicles take a larger share

Electric vehicle sales rose 26.78% to approximately 1.17 lakh during Navratri, even as total vehicle sales fell. Their share increased from about 7.7% a year earlier to roughly 10.5%, meaning around one in every 10 vehicles sold was electric.

The increase of about 2.8 percentage points in market share was supported by several categories:

• Electric two-wheelers rose 33.41% to 75,758 units.
• Electric passenger vehicles increased 25.97% to 12,305 units.
• Electric commercial vehicles nearly doubled to 1,288 units.

Electric two-wheelers supplied almost two-thirds of all EV sales, using the rounded total of 1.17 lakh. Within the wider two-wheeler market, their 75,758 sales represented approximately 9.1% of the category's 8.34 lakh purchases.

Electric passenger vehicles accounted for about 6.7% of passenger vehicle sales, calculated from 12,305 out of approximately 1.83 lakh. Their growth alongside a decline in the wider category shows that the mix of vehicles customers bought shifted during the festival.

Commercial vehicles hold up as three-wheelers fall

Commercial vehicle sales increased 1.12% to 35,618 over the complete festival. Three-wheelers moved in the opposite direction, falling 7.51% to 45,735.

The earlier nine day figures had shown a stronger 14.21% increase in commercial vehicles to 34,120. They also recorded construction equipment sales of 2,185, up 10.86%. The full festival comparison therefore presents a more modest commercial vehicle gain than the opening snapshot.

These categories matter beyond personal travel. Commercial vehicles carry goods and support business operations, while three-wheelers serve passenger transport and delivery work. Their different results show that the festive slowdown was uneven across the market.

Manufacturers report strong bookings over broader periods

Maruti Suzuki said its retail sales between Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra increased 35%. Small car sales rose around 16%, while SUV sales doubled. Those figures cover a longer buying period than Navratri alone.

Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer at Maruti Suzuki, said the company's Navratri performance was close to the previous year's level:

Our retail sales during the Navratri period is almost same as last year. We began October with pending bookings of around 2 lakh units, which have increased to 2.7 lakh units after Dussehra,

The increase of approximately 70,000 pending bookings amounts to 35%. Pending bookings are customer orders awaiting delivery, giving the company a pipeline of potential future sales. Banerjee expected growth in double digits across the full festive period through Diwali.

Hyundai Motor India managing director and chief executive Tarun Garg said registrations during Shradh and Navratri rose 30% to nearly 41,000. He described demand as healthy in urban and rural markets and expected bookings to support sales through Dhanteras and Diwali. Hyundai also expected to launch the BAYON early the following week.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles chief commercial officer Amit Kamat said the company delivered more than 50,000 vehicles during Navratri, including over 10,000 on Dussehra. He said production and logistics had been increased to improve the availability of models and variants attracting strong demand.

Dealers need deliveries to reduce stock

Passenger vehicle dealerships entered the festive season with approximately 45 days of inventory. That means they held enough vehicles to cover roughly a month and a half of sales at the prevailing selling pace.

Unsold vehicles tie up money. Dealers often borrow to finance that stock, so interest costs continue while cars remain at the dealership. Slower sales can increase the pressure to offer discounts, particularly when retailers need space and funds for incoming vehicles.

The manufacturers' booking figures offer encouragement, but dealers need those orders to turn into deliveries and registrations. Available models, production schedules and customer choices will help determine how quickly that happens.

FADA expressed cautious optimism for the Dhanteras to Diwali buying period, citing improving affordability and consumer demand. Final retail totals for that wider period were not yet available. Those results will give dealers a fuller view of festive demand and whether passenger vehicle inventories are coming down.

Key Points

• India sold about 11.23 lakh vehicles during the 10 days of Navratri 2026, down 6.52% from 2025 but up 26.76% from 2024.
• The complete festival figures update an earlier nine day total of 10.32 lakh, which showed growth of 1.95%.
• Passenger vehicle sales fell 21.91% to about 1.83 lakh; two-wheelers declined 2.79% to approximately 8.34 lakh.
• Electric vehicle sales rose 26.78% to about 1.17 lakh, lifting their market share to roughly 10.5%.
• Navratri lasted 10 days in 2026 against 11 in 2025, when GST cuts helped concentrate purchases.
• Dealers entered the festive season with roughly 45 days of passenger vehicle stock and were looking to Dhanteras and Diwali for further deliveries.