Mumbai, Oct 21 Maharashtra recorded the registration of 1,12,814 vehicles, including over 77,000 bikes and 25,000 cars, during the 10-day Navratri festival this year, a dip of about 2 per cent over last year, officials said on Wednesday.
They attributed the drop in the numbers to poor rainfall, drought and uncertainty in global financial conditions.
According to the data shared by the transport department, of the 1,12,814 vehicles registered across 60 Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in the state between October 11 and October 20 this year, 77,449 were private two-wheelers (excluding mopeds), and 25,536 were private cars.
Many customers book new cars and two-wheelers in advance and schedule their delivery on Dussehra, considered an auspicious occasion to acquire vehicles and other assets. This tradition contributes to increased demand for vehicles during Navratri, when dealers typically see a rise in sales, said RTO officials.
At 12,752, Pune recorded the highest number of vehicle registrations in the state this Navratri. It was followed by Pimpri-Chinchwad RTO in Pune district, which recorded 8,887 registrations. Thane recorded 4,474 vehicle registrations, while the figure for Nashik was 4,024.
Mumbai’s four RTOs collectively registered 13,160 vehicles during the 10-day period. Mumbai Central accounted for 3,856 registrations, followed by Wadala (3,586), Borivali (3,206) and Andheri (2,512).
Last year, Maharashtra had recorded 1,15,125 new vehicle registrations during the Navratri festival.
The numbers have dropped by about 2 per cent this year, said a senior official of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department.
The prevailing drought situation could have discouraged people in rural areas from buying cars and two-wheelers, while the global financial situation might have affected vehicle purchases in urban areas, the official added.
(PTI News)
