BENGALURU: Around 3.7 lakh new vehicles were registered in the city in 2020-21, down from 6.1 lakh in 2019-20, according to the transport department’s records accessed by STOI.
This is a nearly 40 per cent decrease, and it is only the second time in the past decade that new registrations have fallen below the 4-lakh mark.
In 2009-10, only 3.4 lakh new rides were registered.
The overall vehicle growth rate of 3.8 per cent is also the lowest in a decade.
It was 6.7 per cent in 2019-20, 7.9 per cent in 2018-19, 7.4 per cent in 2017-18, and 8.7 per cent in 2016-17.
The total number of vehicles in Bengaluru crossed the 1-crore mark in March 2021.
Of these, 66.7 lakh are two-wheelers and 20.8 lakh are cars.
“Showrooms were closed between March 26, 2020, and May 15, 2020, the period of the first lockdown.
Sales started picking up only from July 2020, so there was no business in the first quarter of 2020-21,” said MP Shyam, the president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (Karnataka chapter).
Every year, the transport department fixes a revenue target based on the annual vehicle growth rate estimated at an average of 8 to 12 per cent.
Any shortfall in revenue from vehicle registrations will affect the state’s finances.
Karnataka levies the highest road tax in the country.
The growth rate of two-wheelers in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 was 8.3 per cent, 6.9 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.
For cars, it was 6.3 per cent in 2018-19, 5.4 per cent in 2019-20, and 4.8 per cent in 2020-21.
For the first time in the recent past, the car registration rate (4.8 per cent) surpassed that of two-wheelers (3.9 per cent) in 2020-21.
Experts say the demand for cars has increased because of Covid-19 concerns, with more people preferring personal vehicles to cabs or Metro.
At the same time, many middle-class families have delayed the purchase of two-wheelers because of a financial crisis.
Shyam said that the demand for personal mobility had gone up after Covid.
“People who were earlier using cabs or carpooling are now buying a car,” he added.
Remote work arrangements, job losses and salary cuts have also affected two-wheeler sales.
The registration of taxis fell to 1,099 from 12,055 in 2019-20 and 13,980 in 2018-19.
The growth rate of taxis was 8.2 per cent in 2018-19, 6.5 per cent in 2019-20, and 0.5 per cent in 2020-21.
Currently, there are 1.9 lakh taxis in the city.
“Most banks have stopped giving loans to cab drivers to buy cars as they are aware of the financial situation.
We are not getting any business because of the lockdown,” said cab union leader Tanveer Pasha.
“There are other problems: people have become wary of travelling in cabs and many offices are closed, allowing WFH.
Diesel prices have gone up, compounding drivers’ woes.
But there has been no relief from the government so far.”