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)
