Snapdeal sees 110% growth in the automotive category in FY 22 as India starts to commute again

April 6, 2022 Mumbai:  The easing of the pandemic also means users getting back to their regular commutes for work, leisure, and socializing. As India starts to commute again, the demand for automotive accessories is also on the upswing. Snapdeal, India’s leading value-focused platform, has seen a 110% volume growth in the automotive accessories market in FY 22 over the previous year.

In FY 22, users bought automotive accessories for three main purposes, including personal safety, automotive care, and regular cleaning and maintenance.

Anti-glare glasses for night driving, LED indicators for bikes, fog lights for cars, Balaclava masks, and cotton arm sleeves for UV & pollution protection were amongst the top-selling products in personal safety gear. Popular products for automotive care included tyre puncture repair kits, flat tyre inflators, lube-based multi-utility spray for moving parts, scratch removers, and dust covers for bikes and cars. Users also explored and bought a wide range of cleaning products for their cars and bikes- from lint-free microfiber gloves, waterless car shampoos to windshield cleaning tablets, from high-pressure water spray guns to clean the exterior to dust brushes for cleaning AC vents. Other popular products for cars included figurines of deities, mobile phone holders and chargers, mood lighting units, and additional speakers for car stereos. 

The demand for automotive accessories came from all parts of the country – while bigger cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru with large vehicular populations accounted for a majority of the orders, smaller cities like Kekri (Rajasthan), Junnar (Maharashtra), Tohana (Haryana), Silvassa (Dadra & Nagar Haveli), Palanpur (Gujarat) and many others also accounted growing and diverse demand.

Ramping up for the growing demand for automotive accessories, Snapdeal has also on-boarded a range of products from Go Mechanic, a technology-enabled end-to-end after-sales auto service and spares provider that sells a wide range of OEM spares, consumables like engine oil & coolant, car vacuum cleaners, car floor mats, etc  Go Mechanic is one of the largest players in the automotive accessories segment, most of which is dominated by unorganized players.

“Today’s buyers are much more at ease shopping for aftermarket auto accessories and parts online, which presents a huge opportunity for companies like Snapdeal to meet the growing demand with a user-friendly shopping experience that caters to this customer segment,” said  Saurabh Bansal Chief Merchandising Officer, Snapdeal.

“We have worked hard to prioritise good quality products that are accessible to people at an incredible value.” he added.

Over the years Snapdeal has broadened its automotive category by bringing in a number of products and brands. Today, there are over 30,000 SKUs from the category that are sold on Snapdeal including brands like 3M, Godrej Aer, Elegant, Callmate, Softspun, Waxpol and Nippon Paints for products like cleaning solutions, car fresheners and perfumes, vehicle protectors, car mobile holders, microfibre cleaning cloth etc.

According to IBEF, India was the fifth-largest auto market in 2020, with 3.49 million passenger and commercial vehicles sold. Despite the industry’s challenges, passenger vehicle sales have made a strong comeback as factory operations have returned to near normal and states have eased restrictions. A similar upward trend can be seen in the segment of car and bike accessories and related products.