Indian automobile industry grows by 13 pc during 05-06

New Delhi, Apr 13 (UNI) The Indian automobile industry registered a growth of 13 per cent in numbers during 2005-06 over last year.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Association (SIAM), passenger vehicles posted a growth of around 7.7 per cent during 2005-06 to 1,143,037 units over 2004-05.

Total passenger car sales in the fiscal year ending in March rose by 7.5 per cent to 882,094 units from 820,179 units in the previous 12 months.

March 2006 witnessed a growth of more than 22 per cent in passenger vehicle sales due to delayed purchases in aniticipation of the announcements in the Union Budget.

The country, world's second-biggest market for two-wheeled vehicles, saw the segment continue to post a steady growth of around 14 per cent at 7,056,317 units during 2005-06.

The motorcycle segment grew by more than 17 per cent over last year.

The commercial vehicle segment clocked a growth rate of 10 per cent to 350,683 units compared with 318,430 units in the previous year.

The medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment grew by 4.5 per cent andthe Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) segment registered a growth of more than 19 per cent during 05-06 compared to 04-05.

The three wheeler segment posted a growth of 17 per cent during the same period.

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