April saw passenger vehicles sales in India rising 18 per centon the back of new launches, favourable fuel pricing, and positive consumer sentiment. This is also the fastest growth registered in 30 months.
However, the two-wheeler category saw a marginal fall in sales during the month due to poor demand for motorcycles in rural areas.
According to the latest report by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the passenger car sales grew to 1,59,548 units during the month against 1,35,054 units in April 2014.
“We have started the new fiscal with growth in all the segments, except in three categories. For the passenger cars segment, this is the seventh straight month of growth,” Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM said here.
The previous fastest growth was in October 2012 when passenger car sales rose 21.19 per cent to 1,69,788 units, he said.
The growth in car sales also led to a 16 per cent growth of total passenger vehicles to 2,17,949 units in April against 1,88,162 units in April 2014, the data showed.
“There is growth in the entry-level car segment, which is also a sign of first-time buyers returning to the market,” Mathur said, adding when the new Government took charge last year, it helped in bringing positive consumer sentiments. “People began to consider buying instead of postponing. Interest rates have also not risen and moreover lower fuel prices have helped, too,” he said.
However, Mathur said the industry is yet to make a full turnaround after witnessing some fall in numbers over the last few years.
“We are still in the recovery stage. We will say we have fully recovered only when we reach the peak levels. Currently, not all the companies are showing growth,” he added.
Medium and heavy commercial vehicles, which have also started growing over the last few months, grew 25 per cent to 19,277 units last month as compared with 15,429 units in April 2014.
Motorcycle sales However, poor demand for motorcycles in rural areas led to a fall of 3 per cent in sales to 8,81,751 units in April against 9,06,909 units in same month last year.
This led to a marginal fall in total two-wheeler sales to 12,87,064 units last month versus 12,89,183 units in April 2014.
But scooter sales continued its growth momentum, growing by more than 5 per cent to 3,44,752 units last month against 3,27,158 units in April last year.