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MUMBAI: The Andheri RTO , a pit stop for fancy wheels that the rich and famous want to possess, has fallen from the pole position of 19,656 new cars registered in 2017-18 to the second-lowest spot in the city with just 13,280 four-wheelers registered in 2018-19.

Recording the sharpest drop of 32% among the four city RTOs, the Andheri RTO tells the story of the sales slowdown in the automobile sector in the starkest terms.

Latest statistics from the transport department show the drop in car registrations was 11%-12% at the other city RTOs—Tardeo for the island city, Wadala for the eastern suburbs, and Borivli for the western suburbs north of Jogeshwari.

Fewer people buying cars, more shifting to Uber, Ola

At 12,228, only the Wadala RTO had lower car registrations than the Andheri RTO in 2018-19.

The Tardeo RTO snatched the top position from Andheri in 2018-19 with 15,889 car registrations.

The Andheri RTO serves the western suburbs of Bandra, Khar, Santacruz, Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari, a stretch that is home to film and TV personalities and other success stories in the city of dreams.

Registration of private cars and SUVs was the highest at the Andheri RTO for the past many years.

In 2015-16, car registrations stood at 12,165 at the Tardeo RTO, 14,036 at the Borivli RTO and 11,390 at the Wadala RTO, nowhere close to the 17,687 at the Andheri RTO.

In 2017-18, the Andheri RTO swung to a high of 19,656 cars, while Tardeo RTO climbed to 17,833 new cars. Even the Wadala RTO moved up to 13,907 new car registrations.

The slowdown came in 2018-19, when the Andheri RTO car registrations fell to 13,280, a drop of 6,376 cars, or 32%, compared to 2017-18.

“There has been an overall drop in vehicle registrations across all categories by 19-20% in the past one year and one of the factors could be the economic slowdown in the automobile industry,” an official from transport commissioner’s office said. “In case of areas which come under the Andheri RTO, there could be various reasons, from drop in sales to the shift to aggregator cabs like Ola and Uber.”

Transport expert A V Shenoy said it was not easy to get car loans nowadays. “Loans from NBFCs (non-banking finance companies) have also dried up,” Shenoy said.

The transport expert, too, cited the mushrooming of Ola and Uber cabs, which prompted people not to buy new cars and instead depend on these easy-to-book app-based rides.

Ashok Datar of the Mumbai Environmental Social Network said that owning a car also meant driving it for two to three hours on congested roads in the western suburbs, and there were parking issues as well. “People prefer aggregator cabs to avoid congestion and parking,” he said, adding that there had been an overall dip of 20% in motor vehicle sales across the country.

In the city, 66,783 private cars and SUVs were registered in 2017-18. The figure fell to 55,121 in 2018-19.

“A few people from the Versova-Andheri belt have switched to Metro trains for travel as it is affordable, air-conditioned and costs a maximum of Rs 40 up to Ghatkopar,” Andheri resident Vikas Mahajan said. “This is a good alternative to cars or any other mode of transport.”

Datar said the automobile industry in the country was currently in recession. “There is a lack of purchasing power and people are reluctant to block money in capital goods at present,” he said.

