November Auto Sales Live: TVS Motor Sales Rise 27%; M&M Farm Equipment Up 13%

TVS Motor Company Ltd. sold 31.9 units last month, an increase of 27 percent from the year-ago period.

Key sales highlights (YoY)

• Two wheelers sales up 26 percent to 3.06 lakh units.
• Scooter sales up 43 percent to 1.11 lakh units.
• Motorcycle sales up 29 percent to 1.19 lakh units.
• Exports sales up 24 percent to 58,476 units.
• Three-wheeler sales up 48 percent to 8,642 units.

Shares of the country's largest utility vehicle maker fell 1.3 percent to Rs 780 after it announced tractor sales for the month of November.

• Total tractor sales stood at 25,949 units versus 22,994 units (YoY)

Shares of Ashok Leyland fell as much as 4.5 percent to Rs 107,25.

The commercial vehicles maker sold 13,121 units in November a decline of 9 percent from the year-ago month, according to its stock exchange notification.

The stock has declined 8 percent so far this year compared to a 0.5 percent advance in the Sensex.

Eicher Motors Ltd.’s Royal Enfield division’s sales declined 6 percent on a yearly basis to 65,744 units in November.

Sales of models with engine capacity upto 350cc fell 6 percent year-on-year to 61,890 units while sales of models with engine capacity exceeding 350cc fell 12 percent to 3,854 units. Its Exports fell 69 percent during the period.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. sold 6.1 lakh units in last month, an increase of 0.8 percent from the year ago period, according to its stock exchange filing.

Shares of Hero MotoCorp fell as much as 1.3 percent to Rs 3,015 apiece.

Bajaj Auto sales rose for the fifteenth straight month in November. The Pune-based automaker sold 4.06 lakh units last month, an increase of 25 percent from November 2017, according to its stock exchange notification.

Key sales highlights (YoY)

• Domestic motorcycle sales rose 45 percent to 2.05 lakh units.
• Total motorcycle sales rose 31 percent to 3.46 lakh units.
• Total commercial vehicle sales fell 3 percent to 60,386 units.
• Total exports rose 17 percent to 1.72 lakh units.

Shares of Bajaj Auto fluctuated between gains and losses after the announcement.

After sevens months of rising sales, Tata Motors Ltd. reported a 4 percent drop in sale of commercial and passenger vehicles within the country.

The company sold 50,470 units in November 2018 compared with 52,464 units in November 2017, it said in an exchange filing. The drop can be attributed to "low customer sentiments as a result of liquidity crisis in the industry, higher interest rates and rising fuel costs," it said.

"Small operators’ profitability was also impacted due to reduced freights on account of the benefits passed by large operators from the GST related credit. Overall demand post the festival period was muted," the statement said regarding the sale of commercial vehicles in India.

Here are the other key highlights:

• Commercial vehicle domestic sales fall 5 percent year-on-year to 33,488 units
• Medium and heavy truck segment sales fell 24 percent to 9,793 units, impacted by a drop in cargo sales due to poor sentiment.
• I&LCV truck segment reported a growth of 2 percent at 4,071 units.
• The commercial passenger carrier segment recorded sales of 3,419 units, lower by 3 percent
• Passenger vehicle sales fell 1 percent to 16,982 units.
• Export of commercial and passenger vehicles dropped 7 percent to 4,604 units.

Agriculture machinery maker Escorts Ltd.'s sales jumped more than 56 percent led by domestic sales.

The company sold 8,005 vehicles in November 2018, higher than the 5,119 vehicles sold a year ago.

Domestic sales rose 54.6 percent to 7,641 units, according to the exchange filing. While exports more than doubled on a year-on-year basis to 364 units, it is because the company started including sales to Nepal and Bhutan for financial year 2019, starting October 2018.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. reported double-digit sales growth in November, driven by robust demand for its commercial vehicles.

Total sales stood at 45,101 units, an increase of 17 percent compared to November 2017, according to the company’s press release. Domestic sales grew 15 percent to 41,564 vehicles, while its exports jumped 40 percent to 3,537 vehicles.

The company sold 19,673 commercial vehicles, registering a 26 percent growth, as demand for its smaller trucks and pickups rose.

"However, adverse macro-economic conditions have impacted the growth forecast for the automotive industry in general,” warned Rajan Wadhera, President, of the Automotive Sector of M&M. “Going forward, we hope that decrease in fuel prices and improving liquidity will drive demand for passenger vehicles,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. reported a decline in monthly sales in November, as demand for its entry-level cars dropped.

India's top carmaker sold 1.53 lakh vehicles last month, a drop of 0.7 percent compared to November 2017, according to its press release. This was largely due to a 21.6 percent drop in sale of cars from the mini segment - WagonR and Alto - to 29,954 units, and a 19.1 percent fall in exports to 7,521 units.

Here are the other highlights:

• Sale of passenger vehicles fell 1.2 percent, year-on-year, to 1.06 lakh units.
• Sale of compact-segment cars (Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire) rose 10.8 percent to 72,533 units.
• Total domestic sales rose 0.5 percent to 1.46 lakh units.

Most auto companies are expected to report poor festive sales and an inventory build-up in November, according to a BloombergQuint poll of analysts.

Industry interactions indicate that passenger vehicle sales have been “flattish” which led to higher inventory levels, according to Kapil Singh, research analyst at Nomura. “We believe this should lead to slower wholesales in the month.”

The passenger vehicles sales growth is also likely to slow down because of a higher growth in the year-ago period.

Demands for trucks is expected to remain weak because of higher inventories, rising fuel costs and lower credit availability as non-bank lenders face a liquidity crunch. “Deferral in purchase decisions, coupled with stringent financing terms by leading NBFCs hurt retail sales,” Jinesh Gandhi, research analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities, said.

Two-wheeler sales, according to the poll, are likely to grow 6-8 percent on the back of demand from rural markets.

Also Read: Here’s how Nomura expects automakers to perform in November.