India Car Sales Drop For 1st Time In A Decade

MUMBAI, India (AP) – Car sales in India have fallen by 6.7 percent in the past year. It’s the first decline in a decade for the once-booming industry as India grapples with a wider economic deceleration.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers says 1.9 million passenger cars were sold domestically in the fiscal year that ended last month, compared with 2 million the previous year.

Domestic sales were lower than production of 2.4 million, but an increase in exports filled the gap. The association said Wednesday that about 545,000 cars were exported, up 8.6 percent over the previous year.

The slump in sales reflects the wider slowdown in Asia’s third-largest economy.

India’s government has forecast GDP growth of a decade-low 5 percent for the fiscal year that ended March.