Car sales overtook the previous all-time high in January on consumer expectations of a

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hike in excise duty on cars in this year’s union budget.

In February, 153,845 cars were sold, a growth of 33 per cent over the same month last year, data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said Monday. In January 2010, car sales stood at 145,905 units.

Easier interest rates on auto loans, slew of model launches by carmakers and a growing economy coupled with increasing consumer confidence have helped the industry in completing a year of positive growth.

“February is always good because of near-ending of financial year, shifting to new emission norms like it happened in 2000-01 and 2005-06 and the union budget being held around this time,” director general Siam Dilip Chenoy said.

In February, four of top five carmakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Tata Motors and General Motors reported their highest ever sales in the local market.

However, in the short to medium-term, the industry is cautious on future growth, as private banks including ICICI and HDFC Bank have already raised rates on auto loans, sparking apprehensions on public banks following suit.

“Interest rates and liquidity situation are main concerns,” Chenoy said.

Sales of commercial vehicles also grew 87 per cent at 58,024 units, owing to medium and heavy commercial vehicles, which increased two-fold at 28,099 units.

“The demand is projected to remain robust in the future, though interest rates and availability of finance tend to have a deepened impact on sales,” partner – automotive Ernst & Young India Kapil Arora said.

India’s scooter sales reached the highest in ten years. “Scooter sales have exceeded 1998-99 numbers,” Chenoy said.

Between April and February this fiscal year, 1.30 million scooters have been sold. During the whole financial year 1998-99, 1.29 million scooters were sold. In February, scooter sales accelerated 45 per cent at 145,857 units.

Motorcycle sales also zoomed 642,419 units, up 31 per cent from the year-ago period.