Two-wheeler and passenger vehicle sales smash all-time records in a year of many firsts for automakers

New Delhi: India’s top manufacturers of scooters, motorcycles and cars are set to close the year on a record high, with two-wheeler retail registrations crossing 20 million and four-wheeler registrations crossing 4.3 million for the first time.According to data from the government's Vahan portal, which records vehicle registrations after they have been sold at dealerships, two-wheeler registrations grew by 7% to 20.2 million units in 2025, breaking the all-time record of 19.6 million registrations in 2018. Meanwhile, passenger vehicle registrations (cars, sports utility vehicles and vans) grew 9% year-on-year to 4.38 million units, also a new record.This growth is reflected in investors' bullishness for the automobile sector, with the Nifty Auto rising 22% during the year, against 10% for the benchmark Nifty 50.Independent analysts have noted over the past few days that the automobile sector as a whole benefited from the goods and services tax (GST) cuts in September, helping it achieve record-high sales.“Following the GST rationalization, demand has picked up across segments and seems to have remained intact even after the festive season.

A notable trend is that entry-level vehicles, both two-wheelers and passenger vehicles, are seeing a marked pickup in demand,” analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services wrote in a 30 December note.In September, the Union government reduced the GST rate for small passenger vehicles and two-wheelers from 28% to 18%, and for bigger vehicles from 45-50% to 40%, following which automakers announced a series of price cuts.The automobile sector saw many other firsts besides the record growth in both two-wheeler and four-wheeler registrations. Mahindra and Mahindra ended the year at number