Mumbai, 5th of February, 2026 : India’s mobility sector entered 2026 on a stable footing. January data indicates that truck rentals remained largely flat without much changes month-on-month across key trunk routes, while recording healthy year-on-year growth of 5%–12%. The onset of the Rabi harvest in January, with increased movement of agricultural produce across regions kept trucking activity busy. On a year-on-year basis, the Delhi–Mumbai–Delhi route recorded the highest growth at 12%, while the Delhi–Kolkata–Delhi, Mumbai–Chennai–Mumbai, Bengaluru–Mumbai–Bengaluru and Kolkata–Guwahati–Kolkata routes each posted growth of around 10%.
Electric vehicle adoption continued to be a key growth driver, with electric two-wheeler demand remaining resilient due to steady urban commuting needs and improving product reliability, while electric car sales benefited from wider model availability and rising consumer comfort with EV ownership. On a month-on-month basis, electric two-wheeler sales increased by 26% and electric motor car sales grew by 29%, underscoring sustained momentum across EV segments.
Robust demand for SUVs, supported by resilient consumer confidence, underpinned strong sales across passenger vehicles (PV) in January. At the same time, sustained requirements for last-mile delivery and utility transport continued to support healthy retail sales in the light commercial vehicle segment. In contrast, bus retail volumes moderated during January 2026 as slower fleet replacement cycles weighed on fresh purchases, resulting in a decline in sales.
Motor car sales recorded a sharp 37% MoM increase, reflecting improved consumer sentiment and higher showroom conversions. At the same time, Goods Carriers and Three-wheeler Goods Vehicles sales grew by 37% and 33% respectively, underscoring sustained momentum in freight and last-mile logistics, highlighting a broad-based recovery across both personal mobility and commercial transport segments.
MoM Commercial construction equipment sales rose by 22%, while Earth-moving Equipment sales surged by 44%, driven by ongoing investments in highways, urban infrastructure, logistics parks and industrial corridors.
“Truck rentals were flat in January following a strong pickup in the previous quarter. Following the announcement of the Indo US trade pact, we expect vehicular movement to pick up across key export hubs and ports. Rising temperatures should also restore normal logistics activities in the Himalayan region. However, transport operators note that geopolitical tensions along the Indo Bangla border continue to disrupt goods movement. As we enter the peak quarter, we expect overall normalcy to return to the transport sector.” said Sudarshan Holla, Joint Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Vehicles, Shriram Finance.
ABOUT SHRIRAM FINANCE LIMITED:
Shriram Finance Limited is the flagship company of the Shriram group which has significant presence in Consumer Finance, Life Insurance, General Insurance, Stock Broking and Distribution businesses. Shriram Finance Limited is one of India’s largest retail asset financing Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) with Assets under Management (AUM) above Rs. 2.91 trillion. Established in 1979, Shriram Finance is a holistic finance provider catering to the needs of Small Road Transport Operators and small business owners and is a leader in organised financing of pre-owned commercial vehicles and two wheelers. It has vertically integrated business model and offers financing number of products which include passenger commercial vehicles, loans to micro and small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), tractors & farm equipment, gold, personal loans and working capital loans etc. Over last 46 years, it has developed strong competencies in the areas of loan origination, valuation of pre-owned commercial vehicles and other assets, and collections. It has a pan India presence with network of 3,225 branches and an employee strength of 77,724 servicing to 97.62 lakhs of customers.
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