India's February car sales jump 22% yoy

Domestic sales of passenger cars jumped 22% in February due to lower sales last year and tax cuts announced by the Government to boost consumption in a slowing economy. Car sales last month stood at 115,386 units as against 94,757 units in the same month a year earlier, data released by the Society of Indian Automobiles Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. However, commercial vehicle sales in India slipped 31.6% to 31,069 units in February, as tight financing norms and economic slowdown continued to hit sales of buses and trucks. On the other hand, two-wheeler sales in February rose by 16% to 630,849 units from the corresponding month last year, the SIAM data revealed.

India's car sales in the year ending on March 31 will be flat or marginally negative, Dilip Chenoy, the director general of SIAM said in New Delhi today. Loan availability for two-wheelers, trucks and buses is still a cause for concern, he said. Chenoy attributed the rebound in February to the low base effect of last year. Car sales in February 2008 were low, as potential buyers had postponed purchases in anticipation of tax cuts in the Union Budget. Sales climbed in March last year after the Government cut excise duty on small cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and buses.