Riding on the back of festive demand, passenger vehicle sales increased 12.73 per cent to 2,85,367 units in November against 2,53,139 units in the same month last year, industry body Siam said on Friday. The figures are despatches by the car companies to the dealers.

This is the fourth consecutive month rise in passenger vehicles and two-wheeler sales after production and sales came to a halt in April. Companies have increased inventory at dealerships expecting retail sales to stay strong beyond Diwali and Dhanteras.

According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), two-wheeler sales rose 13.43 per cent to 16,00,379 units, compared with 14,10,939 units in the same month last year.

Last month, the country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India witnessed a 12.3 per cent increase in its dispatches to dealers at 1,56,244 units. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India saw 9.42 per cent increase in dispatches at 48,800 units.

In the two-wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp reported a 13.83 per cent rise in dispatches to 5,75,957 units, while Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India witnessed 10.54 per cent rise in dispatches to dealers last month.

Motorcycle sales were at 10,26,705 units against 8,93,538 units in November 2019, up 14.9 per cent. Scooter sales were up 9.29 per cent at 5,02,561 units from 4,59,851 units a year ago.

Sales of two wheelers have picked up faster compared to the other segments because of the quicker recovery in demand in the rural and semi-urban areas.