Record Car Sales in July for India Automakers

MUMBAI (NewsRise) — Car sales in India grew 9.62% in July, its fastest growth in seven months, as hatchbacks from Suzuki Motor’s local unit and Hyundai Motor spurred demand.

According to data from industry group Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, or SIAM, car sales last month rose to 177,604 units from 162,022 units a year earlier. Deliveries of utility vehicles surged about 42% to 64,105 units amid demand for new models from Mahindra & Mahindra and rivals.

Total two-wheeler sales grew roughly 14% to 1.48 million units from 1.30 million, the SIAM data showed.
Maruti Suzuki India, the nation’s top-selling carmaker, saw its sales surge to a record in July, helped by demand for its new utility vehicles Vitara Brezza and S-Cross. Second-ranked Hyundai Motor India reported a 13% increase in domestic car sales to 41,201 units on demand for its SUV Creta. The rising demand for automobiles will likely sustain in coming months as a revival in monsoon rains would help boost farm output, analysts said.
A recent government move to increase salaries and pensions for millions of its employees and pensioners by at least 14% would spur demand for cars in the cities.

Sales of small trucks, or light commercial vehicles, grew 6.3% in July, while demand for big trucks declined 7.6%.

Even as the sales of utility vehicles sustained strong growth, analysts are flagging concerns of a slowdown in demand as authorities step up efforts to introduce a slew of measures to curb pollution.

In December, India’s top court temporarily banned the registrations of SUVs and private cars with diesel engine capacity of 2 liters or more in the national capital as part of efforts to clean up the toxic smog. That, along with a tax levy of up to 4% on new passenger vehicles perils the segment’s growth going forward.

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