India's passenger car sales rose in June at the fastest pace in four months as Maruti Udyog Ltd.'s new SX4 sedan model and Renault SA's Logan attracted more buyers.
Car sales rose 16 percent to 94,002 vehicles last month from a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement in New Delhi today. Sales in the three months ended June 30 rose 13 percent to 275,147 cars.
India's carmakers are introducing new models and offering discounts on older variants to entice buyers as banks set interest rates at eight-year highs. Auto sales have gained in eight of the past 10 years as economic expansion enables more people to afford an automobile in the country.
"New models are pushing car sales," S. Ramnath, an analyst at Mumbai-based SSKI Securities Pvt. said in a phone interview today.
Maruti introduced the SX4 car on May 7, its first new sedan in eight years to lure drivers from smaller hatchbacks. The Indian unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. has a two-week waiting list for the model.
The company, which controls half of Asia's fourth-biggest automotive market, has introduced five new or upgraded models in the past 12 months to win customers. Maruti's car sales gained 27 percent to 47,783 units last month.
Indian sales of General Motors Corp., which introduced its first minicar in the country in April, more than doubled to 3,229 units. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., which introduced Renault's Logan in April, sold 2,380 sedans, the statement said.
Demand is growing even as interest rates rise. More than half of the vehicles sold in India are bought on credit.
Banks have increased lending rates by between 200 basis points and 250 basis points since December. State Bank, India's biggest commercial bank, said on April 7 it will charge its best borrowers 12.75 percent, the highest rate since April 1999.
This has led Maruti and the local unit of Toyota Motor Corp. to offer discounts and subsidize interest rates to lure buyers.
Car sales rose 16 percent to 94,002 vehicles last month from a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement in New Delhi today. Sales in the three months ended June 30 rose 13 percent to 275,147 cars.
India's carmakers are introducing new models and offering discounts on older variants to entice buyers as banks set interest rates at eight-year highs. Auto sales have gained in eight of the past 10 years as economic expansion enables more people to afford an automobile in the country.
"New models are pushing car sales," S. Ramnath, an analyst at Mumbai-based SSKI Securities Pvt. said in a phone interview today.
Maruti introduced the SX4 car on May 7, its first new sedan in eight years to lure drivers from smaller hatchbacks. The Indian unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. has a two-week waiting list for the model.
The company, which controls half of Asia's fourth-biggest automotive market, has introduced five new or upgraded models in the past 12 months to win customers. Maruti's car sales gained 27 percent to 47,783 units last month.
Indian sales of General Motors Corp., which introduced its first minicar in the country in April, more than doubled to 3,229 units. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., which introduced Renault's Logan in April, sold 2,380 sedans, the statement said.
Demand is growing even as interest rates rise. More than half of the vehicles sold in India are bought on credit.
Banks have increased lending rates by between 200 basis points and 250 basis points since December. State Bank, India's biggest commercial bank, said on April 7 it will charge its best borrowers 12.75 percent, the highest rate since April 1999.
This has led Maruti and the local unit of Toyota Motor Corp. to offer discounts and subsidize interest rates to lure buyers.
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