Car Sales in India Climb 17%

Strong demand for small SUVs boosted passenger vehicle sales in India 17% to 259,700 units in July, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers reports. The year-on-year gain was the strongest since October, when sales surged 21%.

SIAM notes the surge reverses two months of market shrinkage. SUV deliveries last month zoomed 42% to 64,100 units. Market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. saw its SUV sales rise 150% to 17,400 units last month, compared with a 2% gain in car sales to 93,600 car units, according to the trade group.

July sales by Mahindra & Mahindra, which specializes in trucks and SUVs, jumped 21% to 16,000 units. Hyundai Motor India Ltd. posted gains of 12% to 33,200 cars and 16% to 8,000 SUVs.