New Delhi - Indian car sales soared 34 per cent in October, a new signal that the economic recovery in Asia's third-largest economy was gaining ground, news report said Wednesday.

Domestic passenger car sales jumped 34 per cent year-on-year, while sales of commercial vehicles surged by 52 per cent, according to the New Delhi-based Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the PTI news agency reported.

Domestic passenger car sales stood at 132,615 units in October, the seventh consecutive month of growth compared with 99,052 units the same month a year ago, the SIAM said.

Motorcycle sales that month rose by 14.2 per cent to 611,828 units, the report added.

Indian automobile sales generally record a jump during India's religious festival season starting from early October until December.

The time around the Hindu festival of lights or Diwali, which was celebrated on October 17, is regarded as an auspicious time to make new purchases, so many Indians buy apartments or cars then.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said recently India has weathered the global economic crisis better than most countries and was expected to post gross domestic product growth of 6.5 per cent in the current financial year.

India's industrial production also rose 10.4 per cent in August, a 22-month-high, buoyed by double-digit growth in the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors. (dpa)