India’s October Car Retail Hits Its Second-Best Ever — and EV Sales Set an All-Time Record

Indian automobile retail recorded its second-best October on record, registering a 25.05% month-on-month increase over September, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Total vehicle retail sales reached 3,172,466 units during the month.

Clean mobility was a key growth driver. Electric-vehicle retail reached an all-time peak of approximately 355,000 units, up 44.88% year on year, pushing EV penetration to around 11.5%.

Dealers are optimistic about the month ahead: 51.65% projected sales growth in November, according to FADA’s Online Members’ Survey, backed by Dhanteras and Diwali falling within the month.

It matters that this is retail data, not wholesale. Carmakers including Maruti, Mahindra and Hyundai already reported best-ever Octobers on shipments to dealers; FADA’s numbers show what actually reached customers — and on that measure, October was nearly as strong as the factories’ figures suggested.