Passenger vehicle sales in the country totalled 1.82 lakh in July, marking a decline of 3.86 per cent from 1.9 lakh units in the year-ago period, data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) showed on Tuesday.

The decline was cushioned by a rise in demand for entry-level cars and motorcycles in the rural and semi-urban markets.

“After a few consecutive months of falling sales in a post-Covid scenario, there are signs of green shoots in passenger vehicles and two-wheelers. Sales in August would indicate if this is sustainable demand and not just a pent-up demand,” Rajan Wadhera, president of Siam, said.

According to the Siam figures, Maruti Suzuki India sold 70,090 units last month compared with 71,486 units in July 2019.

Hyundai Motor India wholesales stood at 19,828 units compared with 22,776 units in the year-ago month.

In the two-wheeler segment, scooter sales fell 36.51 per cent year-on-year to 3,34,288 units, while motorcycles sales declined marginally by 4.87 per cent to 8,88,520 units. Overall, two-wheeler sales fell 15.24 per cent to 12,81,354 units.

Three-wheeler sales totalled 12,728 units last month, marking a decline of 77.16 per cent from 55,719 units in July last year.

Siam did not provide wholesale dispatches of commercial vehicle in July.

Total production of passenger vehicles, including three-wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycles, in July was 17.15 lakh units against 24.28 lakh units a year ago.

July saw a 29 per cent drop in total domestic sales at 1,715,514 units against 2,428,518 units a year ago.