Passenger car sales marginally lower in January: SIAM data

New Delhi: Sales of domestic passenger cars inched down in January 2018, industry data showed on Monday. As per the data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), 184,264 passenger cars were sold in January, down from 186,596 in the corresponding month of 2017.

However, the off-take of other sub-segments of passenger vehicle category such as utility vehicles edged higher by 37.88 percent during the month to 85,850 units. On the other hand, sales of vans declined by 7.06 percent to 15,363 units.

Consequently, the overall domestic passenger vehicle sales inched up by 7.57 percent in January to 285,477 units from 265,389 units sold during the corresponding period in 2017.

According to the data, the sales of overall commercial vehicles surged by 39.73 percent to 85,660 units in January. The segment is a key indicator of economic activity.

In another major segment — three-wheelers, sales accelerated by 99.53 percent to 62,543 units during the month.

In addition, overall sales of two-wheelers, which include scooters, motorcycles and mopeds, climbed by 33.43 percent to 1,684,066 units.

The data disclosed that the Indian automobile sector reported an increase of 30.71 percent during January 2018 — with total sales at 2,117,746 units across segments and categories.

Moreover, the overall exports across categories edged higher by 33.33 percent to 340,461 units last month.

"January has been a good month all round for automotive sector with each of the segments doing well, continuing the trajectory of growth from almost November 2017," said Sridhar V, Partner, Grant Thornton India.

"Certainly commercial vehicle sales and 2 wheeler sales have been very encouraging. With the auto expo unveiling many launches and vehicles for the future it looks an exciting year ahead. Luxury vehicles and passenger vehicles dependent on imports could see some challenge in the short term after the budget."