Indian passenger vehicle sales surge 9% in August driven by strong demand

Passenger vehicle wholesales in India rose 9 per cent year-on-year in August on the back of strong demand for utility models, industry body SIAM said on Monday.

Overall passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers rose to 3,59,228 units last month from 3,28,376 units in August 2022. Utility vehicle sales increased 34 per cent year-on-year to 1,81,825 units.

Passenger car dispatches on the other hand declined 10 per cent to 1,20,031 units from 1,33,477 units in August 2022. Van wholesales also dipped to 11,859 units from 12,236 units.

"Last month saw the highest ever August month sales for passenger vehicles and three-wheelers," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Vinod Aggarwal said in a statement.

Three-wheeler sales rose to 64,763 units in August as against 38,369 units in the same month last year. Two-wheeler dispatches increased to 15,66,594 units from 15,57,429 units.

"Two-wheeler sales remained at levels similar to a year ago," Aggarwal said adding that the industry also witnessed a good growth in the commercial vehicle segment in August 2023.

"Based on the performance of last month, we are even more optimistic for demand to pick up during the festive season, enabled by positive economic outlook and the revival of monsoon after a deficit in August," Aggarwal said.

In the passenger vehicle segment, Maruti Suzuki India saw an increase of 16 per cent in dispatches to dealers at 1,56,114 units from 1,34,166 units in August 2022. Rival Hyundai Motor India dispatched 53,830 units to dealers as against 49,510 units in the same month last year.