A robust demand for utility vehicles helped the passenger vehicle wholesales breach the 40-lakh mark in a year for the first time in 2023, industry body SIAM said on Friday.

The overall passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers stood at 41,01,600 units, up 8 per cent from 37,92,444 units in the 2022 calendar year.

Utility vehicle sales rose to 23,53,605 units last year, a jump of 22.4 per cent from 19,22,805 units in 2022. Similarly, van dispatches increased to 1,46,122 units in 2023 against 1,32,468 units in 2022.

Passenger car wholesales, however, witnessed a dip of 8 per cent to 16,01,873 units over 17,37,171 units in 2022.

In the October-December quarter this year, passenger vehicle wholesales stood at 10,12,285 units, up 8 per cent from 9,34,955 units in the year-ago period. Last year, two-wheeler dispatches rose to 1,70,75,160 units compared with 1,56,47,973 units in 2022, an increase of 9 per cent.

Commercial vehicle dispatches grew to 9,78,385 units from 9,33,396 units in 2022.