India is now the world’s third largest car market

India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s third largest car market according to industry data, reported by Nikkei Asia.

In 2022, approximately 4.25 million new vehicles were sold in the nation whereas 4.2 million made their way onto the roads of Japan.

From January to November, India sold 4.13 million vehicles which increased to 4.25 million after Maruti Suzuki reported its December sales volume.

That figure is expected to rise as sales figures for the fourth quarter are still pending. Year-end results for commercial vehicles also still need to be included in the 2022’s total.

Back in 2021, China held the crown as the world’s largest automotive market with 26.67 million vehicles sold while the United States came in second with 15.4 million.

India has been up and down in the past few years considering it sold 4.4 million cars in 2018, falling to less than 4 million in 2019. The nation recovered throughout 2021 and ultimately earnt its current spot in 2022.

Many of the vehicles making up the numbers there were internal combustion engine-powered with some hybrids in the mix.

Electric vehicles haven’t quite taken off in India unlike China, the US, and even New Zealand where they drove much of last year’s figures.