- The Core
- Posts
- Festive Cheer For Cars, Finally
Festive Cheer For Cars, Finally
In partnership with
Good Morning. For most of the year, car sales remained tepid to say the least. The festive season too got off to a rocky start as buyers waited for GST cuts after the government announcement. But things have turned around since then, and how. Maruti and Tata both reported record-breaking numbers, Hyundai called it their best Navratri in years, and the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association said retail demand “went through the roof”.
In other news, India plans to tighten its tech rules to curb deepfakes and AI misuse. Meanwhile, in this week’s Build on Blockchain, why the technology hasn’t taken off the way it should have.
DECODE THE NEWS
Festive Mood, GST Cut Drive Record Car Sales
What?
India’s passenger vehicle industry recorded a strong festive season this year. The festive window — from September 22 (Navratri) to October 21 (Diwali) — traditionally seen as an auspicious time for big-ticket purchases like cars, witnessed a sharp rise in demand.
With Govardhan Puja and Bhai Duj extending celebrations, the momentum is expected to continue. Early industry estimates indicate a 20-30% year-on-year increase in vehicle sales during the period.
CS Vigneshwar, President at Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA), said, “It is a record year, car sales have gone through the roof this festive season.”
Why?
The demand was driven by buoyant consumer sentiment, a recent GST cut, OEM incentives, and repo rate relief that boosted spending power. Industry analysts suggest that pent-up demand from the latter half of August and the first 20 days of September—when consumers deferred purchases in anticipation of the GST cut—also contributed to the momentum, along with an early marriage season.
S&P Global mobility has revised its passenger vehicle growth forecast for 2026 from 4% earlier to 8.5% now.
For Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, it was a milestone year with over 1 lakh vehicle deliveries, over the 30-day period from Navratri to Diwali, reflecting a robust 33% growth compared to the same period last year.
Hyundai Motor India said it kicked off the season on a “record note”, clocking over 11,000 dealer billings on the very first day of Navratri, which was its highest single-day tally in the last five years.
Why It Matters
Growth in new car sales was quite slow during the first half of the present fiscal, driven mainly by the latter half of September, post the GST cut announcement. Industry watchers note that it’s not just SUVs but also entry-level cars fueling demand during the festive season, from both urban and rural buyers.
This marks a shift, as the entry-level segment had seen a prolonged slowdown with consumer preferences tilting toward larger, feature-rich SUVs. Affordability was a major barrier, with regulatory-driven price hikes far outpacing income growth during and after the pandemic.
MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
The Future of AI Communication Starts Here
Every day great ideas fade because turning complex thinking into clear communication takes time most people do not have.
Pressmaster.ai changes that. It captures how you think, amplifies it into powerful communication, and shares it in your authentic voice.
This is not about writing faster. It is about thinking louder.
Join us on October 15 at 12 PM ET or 6 PM CET for The Worlds First AI Built for Cognitive Amplification.
Discover how one short conversation becomes thirty days of strategic and market ready content.
Be part of the launch of a new category where AI becomes part of your cognitive architecture.
BUILD ON BLOCKCHAIN
Why Some Blockchain Projects Hit A Roadblock
What?
In a recent LinkedIn post, Phil Le-Brun, director of enterprise strategy at Amazon Web Services, wrote:
“Remember when blockchain was going to change the world? We were told it would transform every industry. But ask a room of 300 executives today how many actually did, and maybe one hand goes up. Usually someone in logistics. So, are you evolving fast enough to usher in this next era of transformation? That’s something to consider.”
Le-Brun’s reflection captures a ground reality: blockchain has not been adopted as widely as initially believed.
Why?
Sectors such as logistics and finance have seen some good progress, but many are still figuring out where and how the technology fits.
There is another category of blockchain users — the overzealous ones — who tied themselves up in knots by being too aggressive with its adoption. Eventually, they had to drop the whole idea.
As a result, the technology, which could have solved some of their problems, did not solve any.
One key reason blockchain hasn’t taken off as quickly as many expected is that a lot of early projects were built with an all-or-nothing mindset: decentralising every part of the business.
How can that be changed?
This series is brought to you in partnership with Algorand India.
CORE NUMBER
48.4 million units
That's how many smartphones shipped into India in Q3 2025, representing a 3 % increase year-on-year, according to a report by business consultancy Omidia.
The report says this modest growth came not primarily from consumers rushing to upgrade, but from channel-stocking, meaning brands and distributors shipped extra units ahead of the festive season. They also offered launch bonuses, promotional incentives, and earlier stock builds tied to early festive-season demand.
Market share by brand:
vivo: ~20 % share (≈ 9.7 million units)
Samsung: ~14 % share (≈ 6.8 million units)
Xiaomi & OPPO: each ~13 % share (≈ 6.5 million units)
Apple: ~10 % share (≈ 4.9 million units)
Apple re-entered the top five. Instead of a boom in high-end upgrades, Apple’s volumes rose on the back of discounted iPhone 15/16 units and a deeper reach into tier 2 and tier 3 markets, according to Omidia.
FROM THE PERIPHERY
Deepfake D-Day!
India plans to tighten its tech rules to curb deepfakes and AI misuse–the IT Ministry has proposed an amendment to the IT Rules, 2021, requiring that all AI-generated or altered content carry clear labels.
Fast Facts: Images must display a visible watermark over 10% of their surface, while audio and video must include a disclosure at the start. Platforms and users will both be responsible for declaring synthetic content and keeping records.
Context: The draft comes as deepfakes spread rapidly online, raising fears of misinformation before national elections. India, home to nearly a billion internet users, joins countries like the EU and China in pushing for transparency around AI content. Public feedback on the proposal is open until 6 November 2025.
Lessors Oppose Aviation Rules.
A group of global aircraft lessors has urged the Indian government to reconsider proposed aviation rules that would require them to clear unpaid taxes and employee salaries before reclaiming planes from distressed airlines, Reuters reported.
Context: India, where nearly 80% of commercial jets are leased—far above the global average of 58%—is a key market for lessors, with major carriers like IndiGo and Air India placing large aircraft orders. However, the 2023 bankruptcy of Go First exposed legal hurdles in repossessing planes, prompting India to introduce new legislation aimed at easing the process.
Setting: Draft rules released in September to implement the law, however, mandate that dues to employees and government taxes take priority. The Aviation Working Group (AWG), which includes top lessors like AerCap and Avolon, and planemakers Boeing and Airbus, has called the rules impractical and warned they could delay repossession efforts.
UGHH 😩
Delhi’s Air Turns Grey Again! After Diwali, New Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) climbed to around 345, with areas like Ashok Vihar, Bawana, and Dilshad Garden crossing 380, squarely in the “very poor” category, The Economic Times reported. Calm winds trapped pollutants close to the ground, creating a thick, lingering smog. Hospitals saw a rise in breathing complaints, and many Delhiites woke up coughing.
Backdrop: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had already implemented Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on October 19. It restricts construction dust, bans waste burning, and curbs diesel generator use, measures meant to keep Delhi from sliding into the “severe” zone, where emergency shutdowns kick in.
But, here’s the irony: The Supreme Court allowed “green” fireworks this year. So while officials clamped down on builders and truckers, the skies filled with cracker smoke. Add stubble burning from neighbouring states, and Delhi’s air turned into a toxic cocktail.
PODCASTS
Gold Prices Reverse Their Manic Run
On Episode 708 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Amit Goel, Co-founder & Chief Global Strategist at PACE 360 as well as Dr. Jan Mischke, co-author of the report Out of balance: What's next for growth, wealth, and debt? and Partner at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).
Gold prices reverse their manic run, where will they go now?
Oil prices are up on renewed hopes of an India-US deal and Indian purchases of oil.
Global wealth has reached $600 trillion, outpacing GDP growth since 2000, and powered more by debt and paper wealth than productivity. What does that mean?
MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
Where to Invest $100,000 According to Experts
Investors face a dilemma. Headlines everywhere say tariffs and AI hype are distorting public markets.
Now, the S&P is trading at over 30x earnings—a level historically linked to crashes.
And the Fed is lowering rates, potentially adding fuel to the fire.
Bloomberg asked where experts would personally invest $100,000 for their September edition. One surprising answer? Art.
It’s what billionaires like Bezos, Gates, and the Rockefellers have used to diversify for decades.
Why?
Contemporary art prices have appreciated 11.2% annually on average
…And with one of the lowest correlations to stocks of any major asset class (Masterworks data, 1995-2024).
Ultra-high net worth collectors (>$50M) allocated 25% of their portfolios to art on average. (UBS, 2024)
Thanks to the world’s premiere art investing platform, now anyone can access works by legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso—without needing millions. Want in? Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but…
*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd.
THE TEAM
✍️ Zinal Dedhia, Kudrat Wadhwa, Shubhangi Bhatia | ✂️ Rohini Chatterji | 🎧 Joshua Thomas
🤝 Reach 80k+ CXOs? Partner with us.
✉️ Got questions or feedback? Reach out.
💰 Like The Core? Support us.
