Auto Sales Remain In Low Gear In Oct; Utility Vehicles Buck Trend

SIAM hopeful of better numbers in November-December

- S Ronendra Singh

The wholesale numbers of automobiles continued to fall in October even though some segments grew marginally year-on-year (YoY) basis due to festival demand.

Total passenger vehicle sales grew marginally to 2,85,027 units in October against 2,84,223 units in the corresponding month last year, led mostly by the utility vehicle (UV) segment that jumped more than 22 per cent YoY.

The UV segment sales grew to 1,00,725 units during the month (82,413 units). The growth was mainly led by new launches such as Kia Motor’s Seltos, MG Motor’s Hector, Hyundai Motor’s Venue, Mahindra & Mahindra’s XUV300, and some of the existing models like Maruti Suzuki’s Vitara Brezza.