In October, auto sales crossed 14 lakh units!

Auto sales continued to break record for the fourth consecutive month in October with SIAM on Wednesday stating that total vehicles sold in the country last month at 14,60,655 units was better than the mark set in September this year.

Buoyed by a solid festive demand, excitement created by new models and strong economic fundamentals, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said the record numbers in October was driven by best-ever monthly sales achieved in passenger cars, motorcycles and total two-wheelers segments.

The industry had witnessed a total sales of 13,29,086 units in September this year.

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The overall vehicles sold in the domestic market during October grew by 45.93 per cent, from 10,00,953 units in the same month last year.

"October demand was good due to the festive season. Basic fundamentals of the industry remains strong. Interest rates continue to be favourable despite a marginal increase and there is a strong availability of financing," SIAM director general Vishnu Mathur told reporters in New Delhi.

New model launches have also helped increasing excitement in the market and creating demand, he added.

According to SIAM, domestic passenger car sales jumped by 37.99 per cent to 182,992 units in October, as compared to 132,615 units in the same month last year.

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The October sales were the best-ever monthly sales, bettering the previous best of 169,082 units in September this year.

"This is for the fifth consecutive month that we are seeing record sales in cars segment. We see festive season demand spilling over to November," Mathur said.

Similarly, motorcycle sales of 876,810 units, up 43.31 per cent from 611,828 units in the same month last year, was also a record. The previous high of 778,352 units was achieved in September this year.

Total two-wheeler sales achieved a record figure of 11,27,827 units in October, up 50.38 per cent to from 749,965 units in the same month last year. The previous best was in September this year at 10,05,162 units.

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Sales of commercial vehicles jumped by 18.17 per cent to 50,835 units from 43,018 units in the year-ago period.

During October, the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India posted domestic sales of 91,754 units, up 44.80 per cent from the same month last year, SIAM said.

Hyundai Motor India had sales of 34,651 units, up 22.44 per cent from October last year. Tata Motors' sales grew by 20.12 per cent to 21,089 units.

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In the motorcycles segment, market leader Hero Honda witnessed a growth of 39.64 per cent at 4,64,271 units, as compared to the same month last year, SIAM said.

Rival Bajaj Auto gained at 2,39,936 units, up 33.96 per cent from the corresponding month last year. TVS Motor Co had a sales of 67,798 units, up 49.93 per cent from the same month last year.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) saw its bike sales going up by over three-fold to 60,387 units last month.

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According to the SIAM data, scooters segment grew by over two-fold to 1,88,633 units during October compared to 92,346 units in the same period last year.

The growth was led by HMSI, with sales of 79,672 units, a jump of over two-fold from the year-ago period.

TVS Motor's scooter sales were at 43,589 units, a rise of 59.74 per cent, while that of Hero Honda were at 27,085 units, an increase of over two-fold from October last year.

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The commercial vehicles segment carried forward the upward trend that began in July 2009, with sales in last month going up by 18.17 per cent to 50,835 units from 43,018 units in the year-ago period, according to the latest SIAM data.

Light commercial vehicle sales rose 22.73 per cent in October to 29,028 units from 23,653 units. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales surged by 12.61 per cent to 21,807 units compared to 19,365 units in the same month last year.

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Three-wheeler sales during October were up 25.32 per cent to 50,036 units compared to 39,927 units, SIAM added.

Commenting on the outlook, Mathur said if the sales growth continues as it is now, then SIAM's revised forecast of 18-20 per cent growth to touch a total of 24 lakh (2.4 million) units in the passenger vehicles segment announced last month could be achieved. Previously the industry body had projected about 13 per cent growth.