NEW DELHI: The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) recently released the April data for passenger vehicles and said that Passenger vehicle wholesales in India rose to record levels in April driven by strong demand for utility vehicles. According to the data released by SIAM which is an apex national body representing all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in the country the overall passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year to record levels of 335,629 units in April, as compared to 331,278 units in April 2023.

As per the figures, utility vehicle sales stood at 179,329 units last month, up 21 per cent from 148,005 units in the same month last year, and van sales rose 15 per cent to 12,060 units last month, as against 10,508 units in April last year.  Passenger car dispatches, however, declined by 23 per cent to 96,357 units, as compared to 125,758 units in April 2023.

As far as two-wheeler wholesales, SIAM's data showed that the sales rose 31 per cent to 17,51,393 units last month, as compared to 13,38,588 units in April last year. Motorcycle wholesales stood at 11,28,192 units last month, up 34 per cent, as compared to 839,274 units in the same month last year. Scooter wholesales rose 25 per cent year-on-year to 581,277 units in April, as compared to 464,389 units in the same month last year. At the same time, three-wheeler wholesales rose 14.5 per cent to 49,116 units last month, as against 42,885 units in April 2023.

While releasing the data SIAM president Vinod Aggarwal said that the current fiscal has started on a reasonably good note for the auto industry, as all the segments have posted growth in April 2024, compared to April 2023, driven by positive consumer sentiments and festivities during the month. "Above normal monsoon rainfall, policy continuity post-elections and government's push on manufacturing and infrastructure would propel the overall economic growth which would help in continuing the auto sector's growth trajectory," he said.

Over the rest of the year, India is set to witness the introduction of numerous new cars in the Indian automotive sector with several automakers officially announcing their launch plans, especially in the electric vehicles segments.