New Delhi: Automobile retail sales rose nearly 26% to 19.1 lakh units in February 2026, reaching a record, data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) showed.FADA said five of the six major segments of vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and tractors, recorded their highest-ever sales in February, with construction equipment being the only segment to see a decline of 1.2%.FADA President CS Vigneshwar said that February proved to be a historic month for the sector. “The strong performance during the month of February indicates that policy-based confidence in the market, especially post GST 2.0, is now translating into sustained demand across many vehicle segments,” he said.With growth in both urban and rural markets, two-wheelers remained the largest segment with retail sales of around 17 lakh units in February, up 25% from 13.6 lakh units last year. Passenger vehicle sales also hit a record, as dealers reported sales of nearly 4 lakh units during February, up 26% from last year’s 3.1 lakh units, as rural markets grew by over 34% compared to around 21% in urban areas. The SUV drove demand across all markets, as dealer inventory levels fell to around 27 to 29 days.Commercial vehicle sales rose 29% to one lakh units in February, supported by infrastructure activity and growth in logistics and e-commerce. Tractors recorded the fastest growth among all categories as sales increased 36% to 89,418 units from 65,579 units, pointing to healthy rural demand.FADA further said dealers remain positive about the near-term outlook, with most of them expecting sales to pick up in March, helped by several festivals as well as vehicle purchases towards the end of the financial year, improvement in rural incomes following good crop results and better affordability following the GST amendment.
