Domestic auto sales down 7% in Jan: SIAM

Continuing with the downhill drive, sales in the Indian automobile market reported an overall 7.4 per cent decline in January with passenger cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles failing to cash in on new year purchases and an imminent recovery still looking far-off.

Total vehicle sales in the country stood at 768,622 units against 830,469 units, while domestic passenger car sales declined by 3.2 per cent in January 2009 to 110,212 units, from 113,894 units last year, according to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Motorcycle sales in the country, during the month, was down by 5.8 per cent at 452,822 units, against 480,727 units in the year-ago period. Total two-wheeler sales in January also declined by 3.9 per cent at 581,742 units compared with 605,670 units in the same month last year.

The biggest drag came from the commercial vehicles segment, which recorded 50.96 per cent drop during the month to 23,157 units, from 47,225 units in the year-ago period.

"It is very early at this stage to talk of recovery. A lot depends on implementation of the stimulus packages that were announced and also on the proposed measures during and prior to the interim budget," SIAM Secretary General Dilip Chenoy said, adding the next few weeks would be crucial.