New Delhi, Jul 12 (IANS): Riding on overall economic growth, especially in the rural markets, the Indian automobile industry saw a robust performance across all segments in the first quarter of the current fiscal (FY25), including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three-wheelers, and two-wheelers, data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Friday.

In the passenger vehicles segment, sales surpassed one million units in Q1 FY25 for the first time.

According to SIAM, sales grew by 3 per cent compared to the same period last year, reaching a total of 1,026,006 units.

The growth was driven primarily by utility vehicles, which saw an 18 per cent increase, and even vans, which rose by 9.2 per cent.

The two-wheeler segment also experienced substantial growth, with sales rising by 20.4 per cent to nearly five million units.

Scooters led this charge with an impressive 28.2 per cent growth, while motorcycles and mopeds also posted significant increases.

The three-wheeler segment saw a 14.2 per cent growth, reaching 165,081 units, the highest ever for Q1, driven by both passenger carriers and goods carriers.

"The automotive sector shows resilience and adaptability, and is poised to continue its upward trajectory benefiting from both domestic demand recovery and favourable export conditions," said SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal, citing positive monsoon forecasts and the festive season as potential growth drivers.

Commercial vehicles also showed positive momentum with a 3.5 per cent increase in sales, totalling 224,209 units.

In June, the Indian auto industry produced 2,336,255 units of passenger vehicles.

When it comes to exports, passenger vehicle exports grew significantly by 18.6 per cent over the April-June period, with utility vehicles contributing a substantial 40.2 per cent.

"The export of M&HCVs and LCVs grew by 11.3 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively," the report noted.