India has emerged as the fourth largest automobile market with a growth rate of 9.5% as against the German car market which grew at 2.8% with 3.8 million vehicles sold in the country last year.
New-auto sales climbed 14% on the year to 322,074 vehicles in December, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
Full-year sales rose 10% to roughly 4.01 million vehicles, an all-time high.
India is now behind US, China and Japan in terms of car production.
Maruti Suzuki India consolidated its lead in passenger vehicles, which make up 80% of the market.
Emerging markets have accounted for more than half the worldwide total for the first time back in 2010, according to IHS Markit, while China has been the world's largest market since 2009.
India has been a standout performer in recent years. Its auto market doubled in size in just a decade.
World Bank data shows that Gross domestic product per capita shot up about 70% between 2007 and 2016 to just over $1,700.