April Auto Sales Live: Bajaj Auto's Sales Surge, Hero MotoCorp's Falls Over March

Two-wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto Ltd sold a total of 3,89,016 units in April, the company said in an exchange filing on Monday. Bajaj Auto's sales rose 5% over last month led by surge in exports. Year-on-Year, the sales are not comparable.

Sales snapshot (Y-o-Y)

• Total domestic sales fell 30% over last month to 1,26,579 units in April.

• Total exports rose 48% to 2,21,603 units in April.

• Total commercial vehicle sales rose 1.3% to 39,843 units in April.

Eicher Motor Ltd. saw sales of Royal Enfield motorcycles fall 19% in April over last month, the automaker said in an exchange filing.

Royal Enfield, the maker of India's cult cruiser motorcycles, saw its sales fell to 53,298 units in April compared to 66,058 units it sold in March. Year-on-Year, the sales are not comparable.

Sales snapshot (Y-o-Y)

• Sales of models with engine capacity up to 350 cc fell to 46,651 unit from 58,471 units in March.

• Sales of models with capacity over 350cc fell to 6,737 units from 7,587 units.

• Exports at 4,509 units.

India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. sold 372,285 units in April, the company said in an exchange filing on Saturday evening.

Hero MotoCorp's sales fell 35.4% over the last month due to temporary closure of plant operations and the retail outlets amidst second wave of Coronavirus.

Year-on-Year, the sales are not comparable due to nationwide lockdown last year leading to zero sales

Hero MotoCorp said in a statement that it has decided to extend shutdown across its manufacturing facilities in India by another six days till May 9, to break the chain of the spread of coronavirus.

Last Month the company had said it will shutdown all its plants in a staggered manner from April 22 to May 1.

Sales Snapshot (M-o-M) -

• Motorcycle sales fell to 3,39,329 units from 524,608 units last month.

• Scooter sales too declined to 32,956 units in April from 52,349 units in March.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. reported an overall sales of 8,340 units in April, according to the company’s exchange filings.

The automaker's sales halved over the last month as demand takes a hit amidst second wave of coronavirus. Year-on-Year, the sales are not comparable due to nationwide lockdown last year leading to zero sales.

Domestic sales fell sharply to 7,961 units from 15,761 units last month.

• Domestic Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales tanked 60% to 3,983 units from 9,901 units last month.

• Domestic Light commercial vehicle sales too fell to 3,978 units in April from 5,860 units last month.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s passenger vehicles business posted total sales of 18,285 units in April, the company said in a statement.

Passenger vehicle rose 9.5% over last month as demand for its utility vehicle further improves. Year-On-Year, the sales are not comparable because of lockdown due to covid last year.

• Overall, the auto sales of M&M's automotive division sales fell 9.8% over last month to 36,437 units.

• Commercial vehicle segment, including electric three wheelers, sold 16,147 units over in April.

"With the increase in lockdown restrictions in many parts of the country we foresee continuing supply chain related production challenges," Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd said in a statement, adding that while the demand remains good they expect impact in the first quarter due to low customer movement and dealership activity due to the lockdown restrictions.

The Farm Equipment segment on the other hand saw its sale fell 11% in April to 27,523 units, from the 30,970 units it sold last month.

Domestic tractor sales too fell by 12.3% to 26,130 units over last month, while exports rose nearly seven times to 1,393 units over last month.

"There have been disruptions in supply chain due to localized lock downs and availability of oxygen along with dealerships in few states getting closed impacting demand momentum," Hemant Sikka, President - Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said in a statement, adding that the firm expects tractor demand to bounce back as farmers start preparing their land for Kharif crops in the ensuing weeks.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. posted total sales of 159,691 units in April, the country’s largest automaker said in a statement. This is a de-growth of 4.3% over the 167,014 units it sold last month.

Year-on-year the domestic sales are not comparable because of lockdown due to covid-19 last year, leading to almost zero sales last year.

Total passenger vehicle sales fell 7% to 135,879 units in April from 146,203 units last month.

• Total domestic sales fell to 142,454 units in April.

• Exports rose to 48% to 17,237 units in April.

• Mini and compact vehicle segment fell 8.8% to 97,359 units in April over last month.

• Utility vehicle sales fell 2.6% to 25,484 units in April over last month.

Tata Motors Ltd.’s passenger vehicle division sold 25,095 units in April, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

Passenger vehicle sales fell 15% over last month. Year-on-year the domestic sales are not comparable because of covid led lockdown last year.

Overall Tata Motors’ domestic sales fell 41% to 39,530 units in April from 66,609 units it sold in March.

• Total domestic commercial vehicle sales fell to 14,435 units in April, compared to 39,955 units in March.

• Commercial vehicle export too fell 59% to 2,209 units.

Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, the commercial vehicle arm of Eicher Motors Ltd, reported and overall sales of 2,145 units in April, the company said in an exchange filing.

VECV sales fell 70% over the last month. Year-on-Year, the sales are however not comparable.

• Domestic sales rose to 1,555 units from 38 units last year.

• Exports rose to 541 units from 67 units last year.

Escorts Ltd.’s agri machinery segment sold 6,979 tractors in March, the company said in a statement to the exchanges on Saturday.

The automaker's tractor sales declined 43% over the last month. Year-on-year, the sales are not comparable due to complete lockdown last year.

In domestic market it sold tractor 6,386, while in exports it sold 593 units.

The company said while the demand in April last year was drastically impacted by Covid-19 national lockdown, but now supply chain had minimal impact from local restrictions.

Escorts said the company has also build some inventory in anticipation of pent-up demand as the pandemic situation improves.

"The medium-term macroeconomic factors remain positive on account of record rabi harvest, sustained crop prices, and good prediction of monsoons this year," the company said in a statement adding that increasing inflation remains a worry.

Auto sales are expected to enter slow lane in April due to renewed surge in coronavirus cases that led to fresh curbs across the country, according to a BloombergQuint poll of three brokerages.

Sales of two-wheelers and passenger vehicles are likely to decline month-on-month across segments impacting the recovery in the auto sector. The year-on-year number are not comparable due to the complete lockdown last year.

Two-wheelers and commercial vehicles are expected to see a double-digit decline, while passenger vehicles and tractor sales are also expected to see a decline.

The surge has already prompted states such as Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to announce stringent restrictions or partial lockdowns in April, leading to low footfalls at dealerships.

BloombergQuint survey of 10 dealers also suggested that the demand is already down 30% month-on-month in four-wheelers, while in two-wheeler it has plunged 50-60%.