Vehicle registrations in Nagaland stay in ‘top gear’ in 2023

Heavy Goods Vehicle constitutes nearly 40% of total vehicle registrations

Moa Jamir 
Dimapur | January 7

The registration of vehicles in Nagaland maintained an upward trend in 2023, recording the highest numbers in the past four years. 

In 2023, the total registration in Nagaland stood at 27,218, up from 25,563 in 2022, according to data from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). 

It represents a 6.10% increase over 2022 and the highest during the last four years from 2020-23.

However, it must be noted here that after a drastic fall in 2020 due to various measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, vehicle registrations have maintained consistent growth.

For instance, in 2019, vehicle registrations were over 29,000 in Nagaland, but it declined sharply to 16,236 (or over -44%) in 2020. 
The registrations increased by 34.46% to 21,831 in 2021, as per the latest data on Vahan Dashboard, an online data repository maintained by the MoRTH regarding vehicle registration and other related issues across the country.

In 2022, the upward trend was maintained, and registrations rose to 25,653 (or by 17.51%). There was a further increase of over 6% with 27,218 in 2023, almost at the pre-pandemic level.

HGVs in full throttle
Meanwhile, data on the vehicle category informed that heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) continue to constitute the bulk of vehicle registrations in Nagaland with 9,014 in 2023. 

Light Motor Vehicles followed next at 8238 and Two-Wheelers (Non-Transport) at 6345. In terms of fuel, a total of 13,230 vehicles were diesel-based, while 12,485 were petrol. 

There were 1,033 petrol/hybrid, 441 Petrol/Ethanol, 2 Diesel/Hybrid, and 16 CNG-based vehicles. Five were listed as 'not applicable.' 

Electric Battery Operated Vehicles (BOV) are still struggling to gain traction in Nagaland, with a mere 6 registrations in 2023.

Nonetheless, this marks an improvement from the 3 registrations recorded in 2022.  As of January 7, only 65 are classified as Electric BOV in Nagaland.

Top 'makers'
In terms of makers, Tata Motors continued its dominance with 4,968 registrations in 2022, though slightly lesser than over 5,500 in 2021. 

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, however, witnessed higher registration at 4,348, up from 4,137 in 2022. 

In the four-wheel category, the others makers in top five were Ashok Leyland Ltd (3,028), Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (2,212) and VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd at 1,574.

Within the two/three-wheeler category, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (P) Ltd regained its top position with 1,775 registrations, while TVS Motor Company secured the second spot with 1,337 registrations.

Last year's topper Hero Motocorp Ltd came third at 1,240 registrations. Bajaj Auto Ltd (1,138), India Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd (681), and Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (441) were other prominent players in the category.

'Luxury' penchant’
The penchant towards relatively high-end vehicles endured in Nagaland with four registrations each for Jaguar Land Rover India Limited and Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd, along with one BMW in 2023. 

Additionally, there were 45 registrations for Isuzu Motors India Pvt Ltd and 80 for Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd. KIA Motors and MG Motor recorded 62 and 21 registrations, respectively.

The registration of the relatively 'expensive' Royal Enfield nearly doubled, reaching 656 in 2023, compared to 341 in 2022. 
Similarly, the registration of vehicles from Classic Legends Pvt Ltd, considered a competitor to Royal Enfield, also nearly doubled, rising from 39 in 2022 to 62 in 2023.

According to the dashboard, Nagaland has indicated registrations for several 'luxury' vehicles over the years, including 2 registrations for Rolls Royce, known for its models starting at a minimum of Rs 5 crore. 

Additionally, there were 30 registrations for Jaguar Land Rover, ranging in price from Rs 72.36 lakh to Rs 4.17 crore, as per information from a car portal.

A sum of 55 vehicles received registrations under Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd, whereas 26 were registered under BMW India Pvt Ltd. 

Additionally, four Porsche AG cars were registered, whose prices range from Rs 88.06 lakh to Rs  4.26 crore, as per information from www.cardekho.com.

Other upscale vehicles comprised 226 Isuzu, 152 Skoda-Volkswagen, 13 Audi, 68 MG Motors, 87 Mitsubishi Motors, and more. 

In the two-wheeler category, 4,244 Royal-Enfield registrations have been recorded in Nagaland, along with 110 Classic Legends. Additionally, there were registrations for two Yezdi Motors and one Harley Davidson.

RTO Kohima tops registration
As of January 7, 2024, a total of 4, 30,201 vehicles were registered in Nagaland. 

The Regional Transport Office (RTO) Kohima (NL-1) led the tally with 177,250, followed by District Transport Office (DTO) Dimapur (NL-7) at 1, 35,696 and RTO Mokokchung (NL 2) at 53,199. 

The other offices in the top five were Phek DTO (NL-8) 19,062 and Tuensang DTO (NL-3) 17,654. Accordingly, RTO Kohima, DTO Dimapur, and RTO Mokokchung respectively topped the transaction as well as revenue collection. 

However, in terms of issuing permits, Transport Commissionerate (NL 99) topped the tally, followed by DTO Dimapur and RTO Kohima. As per the dashboard, a total of 9 RTO/DTO are running VAHAN 4 in Nagaland.

Overall, the top-five makers registered were Tata Motors (134,596); Maruti Suzuki (67,922) Ashok Leyland (38,654); Mahindra (33,416), and Bajaj (2,590). Out of the total registered, 2, 49,751 were diesel-based while 1,77,898 were petrol. 

Category-wise, HGVs had the highest registration at 1, 69,119 followed by LMV (1,19,751) and Two-Wheeler-NT (78,368). It represents 39.29% of the total registrations. 

Nationwide, the total number of registered vehicles in 2023 reached 2.21 crore, reflecting an 11.30% increase compared to 2022, which saw 1.99 crore registrations.

Know Your RTO/DTO:

Vahan 4 Running Office in Nagaland

Source: Vahan Dashboard

Source: Data as per Vahan Dashboard, assessed on January 7, 2023.

Source: Data as per the Vahan Dashboard, assessed on January 7, 2023.