The festive season got no cheer for car makers in October, with domestic passenger car sales segment, declining by 3.88% to 163,199 units for the month compared with 169,788 in the same month of 2012. Car sales in India, which declined for a record nine months till July this year, witnessed some pick-up in August and September, however that too turned temporary as downtrend resumed in October.
However, motorcycle manufacturers had some reasons to celebrate in October as the segment’s sale rose by 18.05% to 1,105,103 units last month from 936,122 units in the same month previous year, according to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Meanwhile, total two-wheeler sales grew 18% to 1,516,291 units from 1,285,015.
Although, total sales of commercial vehicles also slid by 19.77% at 53,533 units against 66,722 units, the total sales of vehicles across categories registered a growth of 12.56% to 1,858,386 units in October 2013 against 1,651,028 units in the same month last year. Disappointingly, SIAM forecasted car sales to decline in the current financial year that ends in March, marking second consecutive year of decline as higher interest rates and a slowing economy continue to weigh on consumers' spending power.
