Car sales in India fell for the first time in a decade - down 6.69 per cent in 2012-13 - as the automobile industry struggled to cope with demand slump due to a sluggish economy.
According to the data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger car sales in the last fiscal stood at 18,95,471 units, compared to 20,31,306 units in the previous fiscal. This is the first annual decline since 2002-03, when car sales had dropped 2.09 per cent.
The decline in passenger car sales last fiscal was also the steepest in the past 12 years when the segment declined by 7.73 per cent in 2000-01.
"The overall economic growth was not so encouraging in last fiscal. Higher cost of ownership impacted car sales. Also negative sentiments, particularly among lower-end customers, have resulted in fall of sales," SIAM President S Sandilya told reporters here.
High interest rates, which ranged around 11-15 per cent, and high fuel prices, mainly that of petrol, also impacted car sales during the last fiscal, he added.
In 2012-13, market leader Maruti Suzuki's sales went up marginally to 8,61,337 units, while rival Hyundai Motor's saw a fall of 1.12 per cent at 3,82,851 units. Tata Motors' car sales dipped by 32.28 per cent to 1,74,692 units, SIAM said.
The two-wheeler segment witnessed a rise of 2.90 per cent to 1,37,97,748 units in FY'13 from 1,34,09,150 units in FY'12.
"The scooter segment is contributing robust numbers to the two-wheeler sales, but the motorcycle sales stagnated in last fiscal year," Sandilya said.
In the motorcycle segment, total sales rose marginally to 1,00,85,586 units from 1,00,73,303 units in previous fiscal.
