India has become the world's third largest car market

About 4.725 million new cars were sold in India in 2022, up 25.7% from the previous year, according to the latest data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, Kyodo News reported Tuesday. As a result, annual new car sales in India have overtaken those of Japan for the first time, making it the world's third-largest car market after China and the US.

Among new car sales in India in 2022, passenger car sales rose 23 per cent year-on-year to about 3.792 million units; Commercial vehicles rose 37.8 percent year on year to about 933,000 units. Industry insiders in India generally expect the domestic market to expand further this year. On the other hand, new car sales in Japan fell 5.6 percent year on year to about 4.2 million units in 2022, the lowest in 45 years. Car sales in Japan have fallen to about half their 1990 peak as the market continues to shrink amid an aging population.