According to SIAM data, domestic car sales in September decreased by 5.36%, while motorcycle sales tumbled 18.9%, the sharpest decline in three years and nine months

New Delhi: Vehicle sales in India registered steepest monthly fall in nearly four years at 9.43% in September with the upcoming festive season failing to boost sentiment of car and motorcycle buyers, reports PTI.

According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) today, domestic car sales in September decreased by 5.36%, while motorcycle segment dipped 18.85%, the sharpest decline in three years and nine months.

The total sale of vehicles across categories registered a dip of 9.43% to 14.2 lakh units last month as against 15.7 lakh units in September 2011. The rate of fall is the steepest since December 2008, when sales had declined by 18.25%.

"The overall economic situation of the country, low sentiments, high petrol prices and interest rates are among the factors which are hurting the overall sales of the auto industry," SIAM President S Sandilya told reporters.

During the month, domestic car sales declined to 1.6 lakh units from 1.7 lakh units in the same month last year.

"New model launches at attractive price points in the utility vehicle segments have also been a factor in low car sales," Sandilya said.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki's sales rose by 3.43% to 68,957 units. Rival Hyundai Motor India's sales, however, decreased by 13.88% to 30,795 units. Homegrown auto major Tata Motors' car sales were down by 18.46% at 17,133 units.

In the two-wheeler segment, total sales in September 2012 decreased by 12.92% to 10,69,069 units from 12,27,662 in September 2011.

Motorcycle sales last month fell by 18.85% to 7,53,693 units, from 9,28,716 units in the same month previous year. The sharpest decrease earlier was 23% in December 2008.

"There is a fall in sales for motorcycles due to weak rural demand and sustained cautious urban sentiments," Sandilya said.

In the motorcycle segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp posted 30.59% fall in sales to 3,44,512 units in September. Rival Bajaj Auto's sales went down by 19.37% to 2,06,248 units.

However, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) posted 77.44% increase in sales to 1,07,406 units, while TVS Motor moved 49,061 units, 30.51% less than the same month of the previous year.

The scooter segment's overall sales grew 10.17% to 2,54,321 units, from 2,30,838 units. .

HMSI's scooter sales grew by 15.51% to 1,24,049 units in September, while Hero MotoCorp sold 49,340 units, up 46.25%. TVS Motor's sales saw decline of 26.71% to 39,075 units.

Total sales of commercial vehicles in September rose marginally to 70,683 units from 70,658 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said.

"Moderating agricultural growth, sustained slowdown in industrial activities and lower replacement volumes are leading to deceleration in demand of heavy commercial vehicles, mainly in the goods segment," Sandilya said.

Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle sales declined 14.80% to 26,471 units during the month, as against 31,068 units in September last year.

According to SIAM, light commercial vehicle sales grew 11.67% to 44,212 units in September 2012 from 39,590 units in September 2011.

In the three-wheeler category, sales went up marginally to 49,576 units, from 49,271 units in the same month last year.