Car sales rose nearly 31 percent to 141,184 vehicles last month, while commercial vehicles jumped more than 44 percent to 52,211 vehicles, according to data released Thursday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, an industry body that represents over 40 vehicle manufacturers in India.
Sales of cars and other vehicles are generally seen as an indicator the health of the country's economy, and the society predicted they would continue to rise in line with growth.
India’s rapidly recovering economy has likely encouraged buyers. From 2003-2008, economic growth averaged 8.8 percent a year, before slumping as the global recession roiled the economy. Since then, growth has recovered to nearly pre-recession levels, hitting 7.4 percent in the fiscal year that ended March.
Overall vehicle sales were up more than 31 percent to 1.2 million vehicles, compared with 917, 645 in June 2009, the data showed.
The organization also said that car sales for the fiscal year that began April 1 were likely to touch 1.7 million, a growth of more than 12 percent.
