Low interest rates and fuel costs, supported by a pent-up demand and new launches during the festive season gave a boost to domestic passenger car sales last month, which grew 21.80%, industry data showed on Tuesday.
According to data furnished by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger car sales during October stood at 1,94,158 units, against 1,59,408 units the same month last year.
The data revealed that the total passenger vehicle sales, including cars, utility vehicles and vans, went up 21.46% this year i.e. 2,68,629 units, up from 2,21,163 units sold in October 2014.
Furthermore, sales of utility vehicles alone rose 20.82% to 58,120 units, while sale of vans increased 19.79% to 16,351 units.
The industry data for last month showed a 12.73% growth in overall commercial vehicles sales, a key indicator of economic activity. The commercial vehicles segment off-take for October stood at 58,596 units, up from 51,978 units sold during the corresponding month of 2014.
On the other hand, sales of three-wheelers inched up by only 0.10% in the month under review. Sales of the overall two-wheeler segment in October 2015, which includes off-take for scooters, motorcycles and mopeds, augmented 13.31% from the previous year.
On product-specific basis, scooter segments' sales in October rocketed 36.80%, motorcycle segment reported a modest rise of 5.66% at 10,65,856 units while moped segments' sales slipped 5.54% at 65,241 units during the period under review.
Similarly, overall exports across categories for the month under review has been 5.56% lower at 2,89,309 units sold abroad as compared to October last year. Notwithstanding sales abroad, total automobile sales in October were higher by 13.91% at 20,35,821 units from 17,87,160 units sold in the corresponding month of 2014.
