--- title: "India car sales to dealers rise for fifth month in February, industry body says; Mideast risks loom" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/279001187.md" description: "India's car sales to dealers increased for the fifth consecutive month in February, with passenger vehicle dispatches rising 10.6% year-on-year to 417,705 units, driven by tax cuts. However, concerns over the ongoing Middle East crisis could impact manufacturing and exports, particularly to Africa and the Middle East. Analysts expect domestic demand to remain strong, supported by the wedding season and new model launches, but warn of potential near-term production disruptions due to gas shortages. The auto industry contributes 7.1% to India's GDP, and growth is anticipated to continue for several quarters due to tax reductions." datetime: "2026-03-13T06:48:00.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279001187.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/279001187.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279001187.md) --- # India car sales to dealers rise for fifth month in February, industry body says; Mideast risks loom March 13 (Reuters) - India's domestic car dispatches to dealers rose for the fifth straight month in February, data from an ‌industry body showed on Friday, helped by tax cuts ‌that have lowered prices across most models. "While the month of March has festive drivers... ​the recent conflict in West Asia remains a concern... could impact the manufacturing processes and exports," Rajesh Menon, Director General of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), said. Here are some key details: \* Passenger vehicle dispatches jumped ‌10.6% to 417,705 unitsin ⁠February, compared with 377,689 units a year earlier. \* Tax reductions continue to fuel growth, extending momentumfor fifth consecutive ⁠month. \* In September 2025, India slashed taxes on larger SUVs to40% as an additional levy was dropped and on small cars andtwo-wheelers to ​18% from ​28%, helping support demand acrosssegments. \* Vehicle sales ​picked up during the ongoing ‌weddingseason, supported by strong bookings, inventory build-up and newmodel launches. \* Domestic demand is expected to remain strong, thoughexports could soften on reduced shipments to Africa and theMiddle East, analysts added. \* SIAM warns the ongoing Middle East crisis could hitproduction and exports if supply chains are ‌disrupted. \* A shortage of gas - crucial ​for paint shops and componentmanufacturing - may affect ​production, analysts said, thoughthey ​expect only near-term impact on Indian manufacturers due toinventory ‌buffers. \* Domestic demand to stay robust ​but exports could ​weakendue to reduced shipments to Africa and the Middle East- AxisCapital \* India, the world's third-biggest car market, has an autoindustry that ​accounts for 7.1% of ‌its GDP. \* Tax cut-driven growth is likely to sustain for ​severalquarters, a dealer's body said last week. (Reporting by Meenakshi ​Maidas and Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru) ### Related Stocks - [PIN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PIN.US.md) - [NFTY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NFTY.US.md) - [EPI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/EPI.US.md) - [NDIA.AU](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NDIA.AU.md) - [INDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INDA.US.md) - [IND.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IND.US.md) - [FLIN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FLIN.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Iran war could hit India's car production, auto body says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282683517.md) - [BREAKINGVIEWS-India temporary forex curbs risk lasting mistrust](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282767252.md) - [Atlanta Fed US Q1 GDP Nowcast Estimate Unrevised from Previous 1.3% Gain](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282231658.md) - [Indonesia central bank sees GDP growth at 5.2% y/y in Q1](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282482471.md) - [ADB Lifts 2026 GDP Forecast to 4.6%](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282477615.md)