Automakers reported strong wholesale numbers in September as festive-season stocking and lower GST rates lifted demand across cars and two-wheelers.

Maruti Suzuki posted total wholesale dispatches of 2,36,013 units, up 24.44 per cent from a year earlier. Domestic passenger vehicle dispatches rose 36.91 per cent to 1,81,838 units, led by a 62 per cent surge in utility vehicles.

Hero MotoCorp shipped 7,66,348 units, up about 12 per cent year-on-year, with scooter volumes crossing the one-lakh mark on a 64.5 per cent jump.

Hyundai Motor India recorded its highest-ever monthly sales of 77,916 units, up 10.8 per cent, while Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles sold 68,810 vehicles domestically, up 15 per cent.

Companies said the GST rate cut on most small cars from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, along with festival bookings, drove the surge. Dealers stocked up ahead of Diwali, traditionally the biggest buying period.

Industry executives said enquiries and bookings in the second half of September doubled in many showrooms.