India has pipped Germany to become the world's fourth largest automobile market, with the country clocking 4 million units in sale, more than Germany's 3.8 million automobile sales in the same period, Economic Times has reported.

The growth of automobile sales in India was also the highest among major global markets. India's automobile sales grew 9.5 per cent, while Germany saw a growth of 2.8 per cent.

While China at 29 million in automobile sales maintains a commanding lead over the rest of the world, its rate of growth stood at 3.9 per cent with the US witnessing a negative rate of minus 1.6 per cent. Brazil followed closely behind India with a growth rate of 9.2 per cent with 2.24 million units sold in 2017.

Within the Indian passenger vehicles segment, domestic carmaker Maruti Suzuki enjoys a commanding lead with almost a 50 per cent market share even as the market is witnessing an increasing number of offerings from foreign car-makers like Renault, Nissan, Ford, Hyundai etc.

The high rate of growth is being attributed to several factors like better economic conditions, easier finance options and improved government focus on roads and highways infrastructure. The resale market too has become mainstream in India with reports pegging it at least 2.5 times the new car market.