The car industry of India is undergoing difficult situation and needs urgent help, industry lobby group Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said.

Sugato Sen, senior director at SIAM, urged the government to lend a helping hand to the industry, saying the various segments of the industry had been suffering decline in sales.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Sen said, "Car sales are under pressure, two-wheeler sales have gone down and medium-and heavy-duty commercial vehicle volumes are down. The industry needs urgent help to come out of this situation."

Car sales slipped for the first time in the last ten months in August, while sales of motorcycles fell for the first time since January 2009.

Car manufacturers suffered a decline of 18.56 per cent in sales August year on year, while sales of motorcycles dropped 8.5 per cent in August year-on-year to 766,127 units.

Pune-based Bajaj Auto suffered a drop of 14 per cent in sales in Augusts from the corresponding period of previous year, while two-wheeler leader Hero MotoCorp reported a fall of 12 per cent.

Analysts have held soaring fuel prices and high interest rates on auto loans responsible for the decline in the auto sales.