March local car sales up 20% y/y: SIAM

Car sales in India rose an annual 20.1 per cent in March, as customers advanced purchases ahead of price hikes due to new emission norms-related expenses and rising raw material costs, an industry body said on Friday. Domestic firms sold 155,600 cars in the month, compared with 129,585 units a year ago, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. Sales of trucks and buses, a barometer of economic activity, rose 61.2 per cent to 67,362 units in the month, SIAM said.