Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS): Automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Friday reported a decline of five percent in overall sales in October at 50,558 units from an off-take of 53,439 units in the corresponding month of last year.

According to the company, it has been able to manage a healthy sales growth of 17 percent over September sales.

“During such tough and challenging times, we are heartened with our performance in October 2013 which has grown by 17 percent over the last month,".

"In spite of new launches, the auto sector has witnessed a de-growth of nearly five percent during the first half of 2013-14 and the recent repo rate hike may prove to be a dampener for potential customers."

According to Shah, the auto industry is looking forward for an immediate stimulus support to perk it up and bring back the growth momentum for the economy in general.

The company's domestic sales stood at 47,787 units during last month, as against 51,316 units during October, 2012, a decline of seven percent.

However, the company's exports during the month under review grew by 31 percent at 2,771 units from 2,122 units being shipped-off in the corresponding period of last year.