Car sales in India jumped for a sixth straight month in July, climbing 31 per cent year-on-year, as new launches and cheaper finance boosted demand. The low base during the same month last year is expected to make growth figures look healthy in the next two or three months as well.

Domestic passenger car sales rose to 115,067 units in July from 87,901 units a year ago, according to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Sales of commercial vehicles jumped 9.6 per cent to 37,624 units, ending nearly a year of continuous decline. But a weak monsoon has clouded the outlook for growth in the months ahead as rural areas feel the impact of poor harvests.

Two-wheeler sales in July also surged 20.07 per cent to 7,19,668 units from 5,99,369 units in the same period last year. Of this, motorcycle sales during the month were up 19.48 per cent at 5,46,245 units as against 4,57,178 units in the corresponding month a year ago, SIAM said.

"The growth witnessed in the passenger car segment was due to the low-base effect of last July. Usually sales in June are low due to the monsoon, and they pick up in July," SIAM director general Dilip Chenoy told reporters in New Delhi today.

Car sales had fallen 1.7 per cent to 87,724 units in July last year after remaining positive for over two years. The July-November period last year had seen a big drop in demand for new cars after urban customers deferred their buying decisions.