Competitively-priced new cars in mid-size and super compact segments will steer the passenger vehicle market forward over the next few years, says a Frost & Sullivan (F&S) survey.

The survey titled ‘Market Forecast and Key Trends in the Passenger Vehicle Market in India’, says passenger vehicles sales are estimated to reach 3.6 million in 2019. It stood at 2.4 million units in 2013.

The survey also said that by 2019, gasoline (petrol) variant vehicles will dominate the market due to the narrowing price difference between gasoline and diesel as well as the introduction of new models in the utility vehicle and super compact segments.

“The low car per thousand ratio in India has encouraged global manufacturers to launch vehicles catering to the specific needs of the Indian market,” said Frost & Sullivan Automotive and Transpo-rtation analyst in a statement.

“Entry level sedans and SUVs from Honda, Ford and Renault offer buyers advanced vehicles at lower costs, thereby spurring demand and increasing business margins,” the analyst added.

F&S pointed out that glo-bal original equipment ma-nufacturers are also expa-nding their production capacity in India to make it an export hub.

In 2015, however, this is likely to reduce due to massive duty hikes by the Sri Lankan government and Europe's non-tariff barriers.