Passenger car sales grew 70% in June 2021, with over 19k cars sold during the month, up from 11.2k in June 2020, according to figures from the Automotive Market Information Council (AMIC) picked up by Hapi Journal. On a monthly basis sales were up from 15.2k cars sold in May.

Keeping things in perspective: The annual growth figures aren’t quite as impressive as they seem due to a low base effect. This time last year, auto sales had hit the skids as the government’s lockdown measures caused a sharp drop in consumer demand.

Total auto sales, which includes busses and trucks, also soared 59% y-o-y to 26.2k vehicles in June. Total sales grew m-o-m from 21k vehicles in May.

The pandemic wasn’t too kind to the auto industry: Sales fell as much as 26% at the height of the lockdown in April as dealerships were shuttered and consumers deferred purchases. Despite that, AMIC figures for FY2020 showed that, overall, sales rose in 2020 — even as the pandemic forced a partial lockdown on the economy.

Disclaimer: AMIC is an industry association which only reports data submitted by its member car dealerships.