Passenger vehicle wholesales rose 17 per cent to 2.98 lakh units in January from 2.5 lakh units a year ago, riding on a robust off-take of sports and multi-utility vehicles, industry body SIAM said on Monday.

In utility vehicles despatches from car makers to dealers rose to 1.49 lakh units last month from 1.16 lakh units in January last year. Passenger car dispatches grew to 1.36 lakh units from 1.16 lakh units.

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) president Vinod Aggarwal noted that better consumer sentiment is driving demand for passenger vehicles.

Two-wheeler wholesales in January rose 4 per cent to 11.8 lakh units from 11.4 lakh units in the same month last year.

Scooter dispatches grew to 3.76 lakh units from 3.61 lakh units in January 2022. Motorcycle wholesales were higher at 7.71 lakh units compared with 7.4 lakh units in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, domestic commercial vehicle sales is expected to grow 9-11 per cent in FY24 driven by medium and heavy commercial vehicles and an estimated economic growth of around 6 per cent, rating agency Crisil said.