Truck rentals and used commercial vehicle prices surge in July; passenger vehicle prices drop: Report

In anticipation of strong festival demand, manufacturers have started moving goods to key commercial hubs, thereby pushing up demand for trucks in July, showed data from Shriram Mobility Bulletin.

The fleet occupancy levels have also started rising. Kolkata-Guwahati-Kolkata route seeing a sharp 3.9% increase in trip rentals.

Used Commercial Vehicles (UCVs) showed a healthy YoY growth across all weight categories with the 2 to 3.5-ton 4-wheeler UCVs prices increasing by as much as 47% followed by a 36% growth in the 1.5 to 2-ton category.

Used Passenger Vehicle prices, across the sedans and compact SUVs saw a decline ranging from 6% up to 10% on a YoY basis.

The prices of Maruti Swift and Maruti Ertiga dropped 10% in July (YoY), while Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Creta lost 6% in resale prices.

The prices of used two-wheelers, saw a rise in most categories except Honda Shine and Bajaj Pulsar which saw a decline of 3% and 2% respectively in July (YoY).

Sales of new vehicles witnessed an upward movement as discounts have entered the market after a long gap.

Car sales witnessed a 11% MoM rise and a 9% YoY rise in July. Two-wheelers sales rose 5% on a MoM basis (17% increase YoY).

Commercial Vehicle sales also saw an upward swing on a MoM and YoY basis with E-Rickshaw with cart registering an 87% increase on a YoY basis and Commercial Tractors registering a 19% increase on a MoM basis.

While fuel consumption for petrol remained unchanged in July, diesel consumption dropped by 10% vis-à-vis June 2024 consumption levels.

Similarly, Intra-State and Inter-State E-Way Bill generation, Number of Suppliers, and E-Way Bill Value all decreased on a MoM basis in June 2024.

FASTag toll collections also remained flat as compared to the collection of June 2024.

YS Chakravarti, MD & CEO of Shriram Finance Ltd. speaking about the July 2024 Mobility Bulletin said, “With kharif harvest around the corner and copious water stored in reservoirs due to good monsoon rains, rural activity will gain momentum in the coming months. Manufacturers too are ramping up supplies to commercial hubs in anticipation of higher festive offtake across product categories.

“We are witnessing sentiment turning positive. Two-wheeler sales which form the backbone for rural transportation are expected to do well. Two-wheeler sales in the D2D (Dussehra to Dhanteras) may be in the region of 54 lakh to 55 lakh units, up from nearly 45 lakh last year.”