Passenger vehicle sales in India dropped 17% in April, the worst monthly fall in almost eight years, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting data released by the industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

According to the data, passenger vehicle sales dropped to 2,47,541 units in April compared to 2,98,504 in the corresponding month last year. High insurance costs, weak sentiment and a liquidity crunch have caused a dent in sales.

In the domestic market, car sales declined 19.93% to 1,60,279 units compared to 2,00,183 in April 2018, PTI reported quoting from the same data. Sale of motorcycles declined 11.81% to 10,84,811 units as against 12,30,046 units a year earlier. The total sale of two-wheelers in April dropped 16.36% to 16,38,388 units in 2018.

Vehicle sales across categories recorded a drop of 15.93% to 20,01,096 units from 23,80,294 units in April 2018.

Last month, Maruti Suzuki, the biggest automaker in India, said it sold 4,58,479 vehicles in the three months ended March 31, down 0.7% on year. The company also forecast a weak rate of growth for the current fiscal.