Passenger vehicles record their best February with sales of 370,000 units

Two-wheelers and three-wheelers also witnessed higher sales in February this year as compared to last year, according to data released by Siam on Tuesday

Passenger vehicles in India recorded their highest-ever February domestic sales of 370,786 units this year, 10.8 per cent higher than 334,790 units in February last year, according to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) on Tuesday.  

Two-wheelers and three-wheelers also witnessed higher sales in February this year as compared to the last year.

According to the data released, sales of two-wheelers were up 34.6 per cent at 1.52 million as compared to 1.12 million last year. The sales of three-wheelers rose by a modest 8.3 per cent to 54,584 units. In February 2023, 50,382 units of three-wheelers were sold in the Indian market.

"Overall robust gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the country in the third quarter of 2023-24 has helped the auto sector," said Vinod Aggarwal, president at Siam.

In the third quarter, between October and December 2023, India's GDP growth came in at a surprising 8.4 per cent. Estimates had pegged the growth for the quarter between 6.5-7 per cent. It was also the highest growth recorded in any quarter in FY23 so far.

In its second estimate, released with the GDP data, the National Statistical Office also raised India's FY24 growth projection from 7.3 per cent earlier to 7.6 per cent.

Siam's data also revealed that exports of total passenger vehicles rose 20.4 per cent in February to 54,043 units as compared to 44,859 units last year. For three-wheelers and two-wheelers, the exports were up 31.5 per cent and 39.5 per cent, respectively.

In FY24 till February 29, total domestic PV sales jumped 8.1 per cent to 3,742,205 units as compared to 3,461,780 units in the same period in FY23. The exports were up by 3.05 per cent at 609,505 units.

During the period, the domestic sales of three-wheelers and two-wheelers were up 46.1 per cent and 13.1 per cent, respectively.

"The Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2024 held in February 2024, graced by the Prime Minister, has also created a strong positive sentiment for the consumers and therefore the Industry expects the growth momentum to continue," added Aggarwal.