Revving up: Car sales rebound in India

NEW DELHI: India’s car sales jumped by 23% in October – the fastest rate in nearly two years – industry data shows. Some 172,459 cars were sold in October, up 23.1% from the same month a year earlier, according to a Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) report. “The rate we have seen in October is the best since January 2011 when we had 25% growth,” SIAM director general Vishnu Mathur said. Mathur said seasonal factors helped spur the October rise – the religious holidays are seen as an auspicious time to buy in India, along with a raft of new models rolling off assembly lines. India has been one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets in recent years. But it has been suffering a slowdown in demand as some buyers defer purchases due to expensive loans, high fuel costs and a downturn in economic growth that is making consumers wary of making big-ticket purchases.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2012.