New Delhi (TIP): Automakers dispatched more passenger vehicles to dealers for the sixth straight month in January, filling up retail channels after the robust retail sales seen in the October-December period. Factory dispatches during the month rose 11.14% from a year ago to 276,554 units, data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Thursday showed, as buyers snapped up compact cars and entry-level sport utility vehicles in rural, semi-urban and some parts of urban markets. In India, factory dispatches, not retail sales, are counted as vehicle sales. Indicating a sustained rise in urban demand, dispatches of utility vehicles grew 37.26% from the year ago to 111,494 units, as companies like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Kia Motors India Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd raised wholesales of their sport utility vehicles. Dispatches of passenger cars, however, fell by a marginal 1.16% to 153,224 units. The higher dispatches follow the low base of the previous year when demand fell following the economic slowdown and higher prices due to the change in emission and safety standards. Among two-wheelers, scooter sales or dispatches, rose 9.06% to 454,315 units as economic activity in urban areas continued to recover, while the same for motorcycles grew 5.1% to 916,365 as demand for entry and executive segment motorcycles revived in the rural and semi urban markets, albeit on a low base.
Urban demand drives passenger vehicles sales
