Truck rentals remained firm across major routes in September, staying above year-ago levels on every route tracked, according to the Shriram Mobility Bulletin. Round-trip rentals for 18-tonne payload trucks increased year-on-year across all 10 routes tracked, with the Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi route recording a 9% increase to ₹177,000 and Bengaluru-Mumbai-Bengaluru rentals rising 11% to ₹152,000. Year-on-year performance was even stronger, with Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi recording the highest increase at 13%, followed by Bengaluru-Kolkata-Bengaluru at 6% and Mumbai-Chennai-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kolkata-Mumbai increasing 7% and 4% respectively. On a month-on-month basis, most routes were broadly stable with increases ranging from 0.5% to 1.3% where changes were recorded.
Vehicle sales trends reflected strong sequential growth in September, led by core sector segments. Motor car retail sales increased 31% year-on-year to 389,190 units, while motorcycle and scooter sales rose 33% to 1.74 million units. Construction equipment vehicle sales increased 25% to 640 units, and earth-moving equipment sales grew 19% to 469 units. Agricultural tractor sales rose 14% year-on-year to 70,140 units, though they declined 15% month-on-month. Commercial tractors fell 22% from August but remained 7% above September 2025 levels. September retail sales of goods carriers reached 87,100 units, up 40% year-on-year and 13% from August, with three-wheelers for goods applications rising 63% year-on-year to 16,457 units. Bus sales increased 19% year-on-year to 6,577 units.
Electric vehicle sales continued to surge across all tracked categories, with pure electric two-wheeler sales rising 111% year-on-year to 198,873 units, followed by electric three-wheelers increasing 113% to 58,592 units. Electric motor car sales grew 143% year-on-year to 32,743 units, while month-on-month growth was also strong with e-two-wheeler sales rising 13% and e-three-wheeler sales up 8%. This accelerating expansion underscores the growing momentum in the electric mobility ecosystem, as reported by Shriram Finance Bulletin.
Sudarshan Holla, Joint Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Vehicles at Shriram Finance, noted that firm truck rentals amid festive dispatches, strong two-wheeler demand, accelerating EV adoption, and healthy sales of heavy-duty trucks and construction equipment indicate resilient economic activity. The strength in commercial vehicles and construction equipment points to continued momentum in infrastructure and core sectors, reinforcing a positive outlook for the broader economy. However, concerns about potential interest rate increases during the festive season may act as a sentiment dampener. FASTag transaction volume fell 3.9% month-on-month in September to 337.38 million, while transaction value declined 1.2% to ₹7,096.35 crore, though volume was up 1% compared to September 2025.
