CHANDIGARH, June 30 — In what appears to be a striking urban trend, Chandigarh now has more registered vehicles than people, making it the city with the highest per capita vehicle density in India, according to official data from the UT’s Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA).
As of May 31, 14.27 lakh vehicles are registered in the city—surpassing the estimated human population of 13 lakh. Between January 1, 2020, and May 31, 2025, a total of 2,02,667 new vehicles were added, translating to 3,118 per month, or 104 vehicles a day, said Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav.
“With over 100 new vehicles hitting the roads daily, vehicular population is rising in Chandigarh. Having already surpassed the human population, the motorisation boom is putting strain on the city’s road infrastructure,” Yadav told The Tribune.
Not only are new vehicles flooding city roads, but extensions granted to 15-year-old vehicles have also spiked. In 2024 alone, 20,000 such extensions were approved—the highest in the last five years. Another 9,000 extensions were issued in the first five months of 2025.
Extensions in previous years included:
- 2023: 16,600
- 2022: 11,775
- 2021: 10,784
- 2020: 7,832
The craze for fancy registration numbers continues to rise in Chandigarh, with Rs 31 lakh paid this year for the number CH01CZ0001—the highest bid ever in the city.
Between 2020 and May 2025, the RLA earned Rs 56.97 crore through the auction of 38,155 fancy numbers, with other notable bids including:
- Rs 23.7 lakh (CH01CV0001) in 2024
- Rs 17.3 lakh (CH01CT0001) in 2023
- Rs 22.02 lakh (CH01CH0001) in 2022—more than the value of the car it was assigned to, which cost Rs 15 lakh
- Rs 13.17 lakh (CH01CE0001) in 2021
- Rs 8 lakh (CH01CC0001) in 2020
Chandigarh’s elite have shown a strong preference for high-end luxury and sports cars, with the top 10 costliest vehicles registered in the past five years valued between Rs 3.38 crore and Rs 4.99 crore. These included:
- Rolls Royce Cullinan
- Lamborghini Huracan
- Bentley models
- Imported Infinity 750S Spider
Chandigarh also takes pride in preserving its motoring heritage, with six vintage vehicles re-registered under the new CHVAAA series. These include:
- Austin 40
- Austin 8
- Morris Minor 1000
- Standard Gazel
- Fiat 1100
- Rajdoot motorcycle
From 2020 to May 2025, the RLA issued 63,096 new driving licences, averaging 971 per month, and collected a total revenue of Rs 1,262.62 crore from all services, including vehicle registration, driving licences, permits, road tax, and fancy numbers.
With vehicle numbers now overtaking the city’s population, the data underscores not just Chandigarh’s automotive affluence but also the increasing pressure on urban infrastructure, calling for renewed focus on sustainable transport planning.
