Car Sales Dip 2% in India

January new-car sales in India declined to 280,100 units from 285,500 a year earlier, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

SIAM says demand for commercial vehicles rose 2% to 85,600 units last month. Overall vehicle sales, which include two-wheelers, shrank 5% to 2.02 million units.

Manufacturers continued to trim inventories of unsold vehicles in January after sales fell 14% during India’s 42-day festival period, LMC Automotive notes. Two weeks ago, India’s largest carmakers reported mixed results for the month.

Last year vehicle sales climbed 8% to 3.99 million vehicles in India. LMC predicts growth in demand for passenger vehicles this year will slow to 3%, or 4.12 million units.