AutoPundit : Indian automobile news and reviews » March report : Car sales up 3%, motorcycles down by 3.5%

March report : Car sales up 3%, motorcycles down by 3.5%

According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger car sales stood at 1,14,195 units as against 1,10,978 units in the same month a year ago.

The slow growth in March acted as a dampener on an otherwise good fiscal year 2006-07, in which domestic passenger car sales grew by 22.01 per cent, while motorcycles posted a healthy 12.79 per cent upswing.

While car market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd maintained a sales growth of 7.06 per cent at 55,623 units in March this year as against 51,951 units in the same month last year, rivals Hyundai Motor India Ltd saw a dip in its sales at 19,242 units as against 22,486 units last year, down by 14.42 per cent.

The ever hardening interest rates has impacted the growth of domestic automobile sales in March with passenger car sales growing by just 2.89 per cent while the motorcycles segment saw a dip of 3.5 per cent.