The Indian passenger vehicle market is regarded as one of the fastest growing car markets in the world and the 2017 numbers bear further proof of that. The total car sales have crossed 3 million and by the time all the numbers are filed, it is estimated to hit almost 3.2 million for the calendar year 2017.
India had missed the 3 million mark by a whisker in 2016 and it was attributed to the demonetisation drive that had suddenly snoozed car buying in the festive season. After the dilly-dallying GST regime, the experts had forecasted a similar mediocre performance this year, but the numbers have proven them wrong.
Maruti Suzuki has led the charge, selling 16 lakh cars in 2017, announcing a healthy 15 per cent growth over the previous year. Hyundai has also posted a strong 2017 performance, thus helping the industry go past the 2016 numbers. The sad demise of GM in the Indian market has gone largely unnoticed while the resurgence of Fiat in India is led by the Jeeps.
With Tata getting its mojo back and Mahindra gearing up to unleash a slew of launches in the next couple of years, it looks like we can aim for 3.5 million in 2018. Stay tuned for a detailed report of the car sales in 2017 once we get hold of all the facts and figures.
