India's March car sales up 20% yoy

India's domestic passenger car sales stood at 155,600 units in March 2010 as against 129,585 units in the same month a year earlier, representing an increase of 20%, data released by industry body SIAM showed. Local sales of trucks and buses increased to 67,362 units from 41,797 units in the same month last year, translating into a gain of 61%. Two-wheeler sales in March jumped to 920,133 units as opposed to 654,010 units sold in March 2009, the SIAM data revealed. Motorcycle sales for the month under review stood at 708,349 units versus 521,993 units in the year-ago period. Total automobile exports in March came in at 159,953 units as against 113,866 units sold in March 2009.

Domestic sales of passenger cars climbed to 1.53mn units compared to 1.22mn units sold in the previous financial year, according to SIAM. Local sales of commercial vehicles rose to 531,395 units as against 384,194 units in FY09. Two-wheeler sales for FY10 stood at 9.37mn units versus 7.44mn units in FY09. Motorcycle sales in the year ended March 2010 surged to 7.34mn units from 5.84mn units in the year ended March 2009. Automobile exports in FY10 stood at 1.81mn units compared to 1.53mn units in FY09.

Total automobile sales in India is likely to grow by 10-15% in the current fiscal year (FY11), SIAM president Pawan Goenka said in New Delhi. In FY10, India's total auto sales grew by 26.4% to 12.3 million vehicles, data from the industry body showed. Car sales in India rose at an annual pace of 20.1% in March. Domestic companies sold 155,600 cars in March, compared with 129,585 units in the same month a year ago, the SIAM data revealed.