Patna, Aug. 20: Overall sales of automobiles, excluding that of cars, witnessed an increase of 8.16 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal as compared to the corresponding period last year in Bihar. But car/jeep sales faced a minor decline of 2.74 per cent in the same period as compared to last year.

A total of 1,38,697 vehicles were sold till July this fiscal (2011-12) against 1,28,236 units sold in the same period last year, registering a modest growth of 8.16 per cent.

Two-wheeler sales have also shown a growth of 9.48 per cent in the first four months of the financial year as compared to the corresponding period in the last year. Two-wheeler sales, which witnessed a growth across the state, including the capital, stood at 1,09,481 units against last year’s 99,996 units sold between April and July.

The surprising part is the dip in car/jeep sales in the state though the quantum is very little. A total of 8162 cars/jeeps were sold during April and July last year, whereas the sales figure stood at 7,938 in the current fiscal of the first four months — a decline of 2.74 per cent.

Even the capital witnessed a slump of about 10 per cent. Its sales dropped to 3,721 units this year against last year’s 4,125 units. The sales figures for almost all categories of vehicles such as trucks, buses, three-wheelers and tractors witnessed an increase. Buses registered more than cent per cent growth in the first four months. Last year, 546 buses were sold, whereas this year’s figure rose to 1,158. Automobile sales have shown a tremendous growth rate of over 25 per cent in the past three years even during economic slowdown.

Experts, however, termed the decline in sales as a temporary phase and hope that sales might pick up in the near future once the slack season (rains) is off.

“The overall sales of automobiles are picking up owing to the fact that people’s income has risen significantly and they believe in consumption instead of savings or any investment,” Nawal Kishore Choudhary, a professor of economics in Patna University, told The Telegraph.

When asked about the reason behind the slump, Choudhary said: “Increasing petrol price, coupled with increasing lending rates by banks, have made it difficult for the common man to afford a car. The talk of dual pricing for diesel has also created a fear among diesel car buyers that they might have to shell out more on diesel even if they somehow managed to purchase a costlier vehicle (as diesel vehicle is priced more than petrol version of any company).”