Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, TVS Zoom Ahead In December Auto Sales

Hero MotoCorp Ltd.’s total sales fell to an 11-month low in December despite a 43 percent increase on a year-on-year basis.

The two-wheeler manufacturer sold 4.72 lakh units in December, as per the company in its stock exchange filing. The year-on-year growth was partially due to a low base in the same month last year as sales fell owing an intense cash crunch following demonetisation. Sales in December 2016 stood at 3.3 lakh vehicles.

The company had recorded its highest ever monthly sales figure of 7,20,739 in September last year.

Ashok Leyland Ltd.’s sales rose for the seventh straight month in December, led by robust demand for its medium and heavy commercial vehicles.

The truck maker's sales increased 79 percent to 19,253 units from the year-ago period, it said in an exchange filing.

Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales jumped 82 percent to 15,950 units, while light commercial vehicle sales grew 69 percent to 3,303 units in December.

Tata Motors Ltd.'s domestic sales jumped 52 percent in December driven by higher demand compared to that in December 2016 - the month after demonetisation. A steady ramp-up in production of Bharat Stage-IV vehicles and continued rise in sales in consumption-driven sectors led the growth, according to the company's statement.

The carmaker sold 54,627 vehicles in total, according to the company's exchange filing. Domestic passenger vehicle sales rose 31 percent to 10,827 units. This was the highest ever domestic passenger vehicle sales since 2012. "Strong performance of Tiago, Tigor, hexa and Nexon drove the growth momentum for Tata Motors," the statement said.

The commercial vehicles segment sold 40,447 units during the month in India, 62 percent higher than that a year ago. "The commercial sector has shown good recovery after the headwinds and regulatory challenges of last year," it noted.

• Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales rose 83 percent to 15,828 units
• Intermediate and light commercial vehicle sales rose 78 percent over last year to 5,103 units.
• Pickup segment sales rose 43 percent to 4,529 units.
• Utility vehicle sales jumped 406 percent.
• Exports grew 26 percent to 6,044 units.

Tata Motors’ shares rose as much as 4.4 percent to Rs 253 after the announcement.

Bajaj Auto Ltd.'s sales jumped 30 percent in December on a year-on-year basis on the back of record sales by its commercial vehicles segment. Exports continued to outperform for the company.

Sale of commercial vehicles rose 187 percent to 63,785 units compared to that a year ago.

Sale of motorcycles also grew 13 percent. Motorcycle sales within India grew only 6 percent while two-wheeler exports rose 20 percent.

Overall, the company sold 2.92 lakh units with domestic sales rising 25 percent and exports rising 35 percent, according to the company's exchange filing.

Bajaj Auto’s shares rose as much as 1.79 percent to Rs 3,348 after the announcement.

Eicher Motors Ltd.’s sales rose 17 percent in December, led by higher sales of its motorcycles with engine capacity of up to 350cc.

Sales of such motorcycles rose 20 percent year-on-year to 63,269 units while sales of models with higher engine capacity fell 20 percent to 3,699 units in the same period.

The Royal Enfield maker’s exports jumped 48 percent to 1,601 units last month compared to the same period last year, it said in a stock exchange filing. Overall sales for the month stood at 66,968 units.

TVS Motor Company Ltd.’s sales jumped 39 percent to 2.56 lakh units in December from last year, led by buoyancy in demand for two-wheelers.

Sales in this segment rose 37.9 percent to 2.47 lakh units, aided by 63.7 percent jump in motorcycle sales to 95,281 units from the year-ago period. Domestic two-wheeler sales increased 35.4 percent over last year to 2.08 lakh units, largely due to a lower base last year on account of demonetisation. Exports surged 55.8 percent to 47,818 units.

• Scooter sales grew 50.5 percent to 83,640 units year-on-year.
• Two-wheeler exports climbed 52.7 percent to 39,852 units.
• Three-wheeler sales increased 72.1 percent to 9,279 units.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s sales grew 8 percent to 39,200 vehicles in December, led by robust demand for its commercial vehicles.

Commercial vehicle sales grew 24 percent to 17,542 units from the year-ago month. Sales of medium-to-heavy commercial vehicles surged 151 percent to 1,193 units. Light commercial vehicles having a capacity of less than 3.5 tones, rose 20 percent to 15,749 units while the sales of bigger LCVs grew 13 percent to 600 units, said the automaker in an exchange filing.

Passenger vehicle sales were a disappointment for the company last month, contracting 7 percent to 15,543 units. The company saw a 22 percent uptick in the sale of cars and vans, while utility vehicle sales declined 7 percent.

Sales of three-wheeler vehicles rose 13 percent to 3,894 units, with exports increasing 8 percent to 2,221 units.

Farm equipment maker Escorts Ltd.’s sales rose 13.1 percent in December on a year-on-year basis, driven by strong domestic demand.

The tractor manufacturer sold 3,476 units in the domestic market, an increase of 14.2 percent, while exports contracted 9.7 percent to 130 units, according to an exchange filing.

Total units sold during the month jumped to 3,606 units from 3,187 units a year ago.

Hyundai Motor India today reported a 10 percent increase in total sales at 62,899 units in December. The company had sold 57,164 units in December 2016, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales of the company, however, rose marginally to 40,158 units last month as compared to 40,057 units, while exports grew by 32.9 percent in December at 22,741 units as against 17,107 units.

For the calendar year 2017, the company posted domestic sales of 5,27,320 units, up 5.4 percent from 5,00,539 units in 2016.

With inputs from PTI.

India’s largest carmaker clocked a 10.3 percent jump in sales for December driven by demand for its vans and compact cars. This makes it the twelfth consecutive monthly rise in sales for the automaker.

Maruti Suzuki Ltd. sold a little over 1.3 lakh units compared to 1.17 lakh in the same month a year ago, according to the company’s exchange filing.

Total domestic sales rose 12.1 percent to 1.19 lakh units while export sales fell 6.2 percent to 10,780 units.

Key Highlights

• Mini segment (Alto, WagonR) rose 2 percent to 32,146
• Compact segment (Swift, Ritz, celerio, Ignis Baleno, Dzire and Tour S) grew 23.2 percent to 53,336
• Mid-size segment (Ciaz) fell 35.8 percent to 2,382 vehicles.
• Utility vehicles segment (Gypsy, Ertiga, Vitara Brezza and S-Cross) rose 20 percent to19,276
• Van segment (Omni and Eeco) rose 23.8 percent to 11,420