Industry data speaks the truth on Rahul Gandhi’s bogus claim about falling vehicle sales

New Delhi, June 5 Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed in a social media post that two-wheeler sales in the country have fallen by 17 per cent and car sales by 8.6 per cent in the past one year – a claim which does not hold any merit if we look at reliable industry data.

The auto industry in the country actually achieved a new milestone in the financial year ending March 2025, with passenger vehicle sales rising to a record 43 lakh units, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

This marked a 2 per cent increase from the previous year. A major contributor to this growth was the rising popularity of utility vehicles, which accounted for 65 per cent of total passenger vehicle sales. This was up from around 60 per cent in the previous financial year.

According to SIAM, two-wheeler sales actually saw a strong recovery, growing by 9.1 per cent to reach 1.96 crore units in FY25.

Three-wheeler sales also performed well, touching their highest-ever level at 7.4 lakh units. This marks a 6.7 per cent rise and even beats the earlier peak recorded in FY19.

"The growth in the two-wheeler segment was led by scooters, thanks to improved connectivity in rural and semi-urban areas and the availability of newer models with advanced features," according to SIAM data.

The sales were driven by healthy demand, infrastructure investments, supportive government policies, and a continued focus on sustainable mobility.

Passenger vehicle exports also touched an all-time high of 7.7 lakh units, registering a growth of 14.6 per cent over the previous year. The report credited this jump to an increase in the export of India-made global models, especially to markets in Latin America and Africa.

Overall, domestic automobile sales grew by 7.3 per cent, while exports across all vehicle categories increased by 19.2 per cent during the financial year ending March 2025.

Moreover, automobile exports from India rose by 19 per cent to surpass an all-time high of 53 lakh units for the financial year that ended March 31, reflecting the growing strength of the country as an auto manufacturing hub.

India’s total vehicle exports touched 53,63,089 units during 2024-25, up from 45,00,494 in the previous financial year, according to figures compiled by SIAM.

Passenger vehicle shipments recorded a robust 15 per cent jump from 7,70,364 units during the financial year compared with 6,72,105 units in 2023-24.

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