The car sales in the Indian auto market dipped for consecutive third month in September as rising fuel prices and high interest rates on car loans kept the sales momentum gloomy throughout the month. As per data issued by the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Monday, the car sales dipped 1.8 per cent to 1,65,925 units during September 2011, as compared to 1,68,959 units sold in the same month last year.
The sales of two-wheelers on the other hand jumped 19.92 per cent to 9,33,465 units as compared to 7,78,351 units sold in the same month last year.
The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki had appeared among the biggest losers during the month with sales dipping 17% to 78,816 cars. This was the third consecutive month that the leading car maker registered a slump in sales.
Considering the steep fall in car sales in recent months, industry body SIAM has lowered its growth projections for the FY11-12 to as low as 2 to 4 percent, as compared to the earlier projections of 10 to 12 percent.
Speaking to the reporters on Monday, the newly elected president of SIAM, S Sandilya said, "We do expect some moderation in growth but the festive period could bring in some delayed cheer." He added that the market will behave differently for various products. While few cars would be sold off the shelf, there would be some models that could face stagnating demand, resulting in single digit growth for the entire car industry this fiscal.
