January Auto Sales Live: Bajaj Auto Sales Rise 8% In January As Exports Surge

Bajaj Auto Ltd. reported an 8% increase in total sales in January driven by a strong pickup in exports.

The firm sold 4.25 lakh vehicles last month compared to 3.94 lakh units it sold during the same time last year, according to an exchange filing.

• Total domestic sales fell 11% to 1.70 lakh units in January.

• Exports rose 26% to 2.54 lakh units, highest ever sales in January

• Total two-wheeler sales rose 16% to 3.84 lakh units, as exports jumped 30% to 2.27 lakh units.

India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. reported a 3.13% year-on-year fall in sales with the two-wheeler maker selling 4.85 lakh units in January.

• Motorcycle sales fell 9% to 4.49 lakh units in January.

• Scooter sales rose five-fold to 36852 units in January.

• Exports rose 33% to 18,113 units in January

Eicher Motor Ltd. saw sales of Royal Enfield motorcycles rise 8% in January, led by an increase in deliveries of models with engine capacity of upto 350cc.

Royal Enfield, the maker of India's cult cruiser motorcycles, saw its sales rose to 68,887 units compared with 63,520 units it sold in January last year.

• Exports more than doubled to 4,515 units in January.

• Sales of models with engine capacity up to 350 cc rose 9% to 64,248 units.

• Sales of models with capacity over 350cc rose 7% to 4,639 units.

Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, the commercial vehicle arm of Eicher Motors Ltd, saw its sales grew 2.3% in January to 5,673 units, up from 5,042 units same time last year, the company said in a statement to the exchanges.

• Domestic sales rose 1.9% to 4964 units from 4871.

• Exports were up 7.4% to 555 units from 517 units.

Tata Motors Ltd. reported a 28% year-on-year increase in domestic sales as higher car deliveries offset the impact of muted commercial vehicle demand. Total sales rose to 57,742 units in January, compared to 45,242 units last year.

• Car sales nearly doubled to 26,978 units in January.

• Total domestic commercial vehicle sales declined 2% to 30,764 units mainly due to a drop in sale of passenger carriers and small commercial vehicles.

• Commercial vehicle export fell 15% to 2,145 units.

TVS Motor Company reported a 31% increase in total sales to 307,149 units in January. The Chennai-based two and three-wheeler maker had sold a total of 234,920 units during the same period last year.

The total two-wheeler sales during the month stood at 294,596 units as against 220,439 units in January 2020, up by 34%. The domestic two-wheeler sales stood at 205,216 units last month, up 26%, as compared to 163,007 units sold during the same period last year, as per the filings made by the company.

• Total exports went up 43% to 136,970 units in January, compared to 94,367 units in the year-ago period.

• Motorcycles sales rose 45% to 136,790 units in January.

• Scooter sales jumped 35% to 98,319 units In January.

• Three-wheeler sale fell 13.3% in January.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd.'s overall sales rose 15.6% year-on-year in January led by compact utility vehicles, to 60,105 units, compared to 52,002 units sold in the same time last year.

• Domestic vehicle sales rose 23.8% to 52,005 units

• Exports declined by 19% to 8,100 units

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s passenger vehicle business registered a 4% growth in sales in January at 20,634 units against the 19,797 units sold in the same period last year driven by utility vehicle sales, according to the company’s exchange filing.

• Overall, the auto sales of M&M's automotive division, declined by 25.4% to 39,149 units in January, as commercial vehicles business drags the gains in the passenger vehicle sales.

• Overall commercial vehicle segment sales, including electric three wheelers, nearly halved to 16,229 units in January, compared to 30,998 units sold in January 2020.

Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd. in the statement said that the supply shortage of micro-processor semiconductors continues to be a serious challenge for the auto Industry. “Going forward we are working with our supplier partners to gear up our supply chain and meet the market demand," he added.

The Farm Equipment segment, on the other hand, saw its sale rose 50% in January to 34,778 units, compared to the 23,116 units sold last year.

• Domestic tractor sales rose 50% to 33,562 units

• Exports rose 55% to 1216 units.

“Tractor demand continues to be strong with expansion in Rabi acreage, very high reservoir levels and higher liquidity in the hands of farmers with timely Kharif procurement,” Hemant Sikka, President - Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, said in the statement.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. reported an overall sales growth of 11% year-on-year at 13,126 units in January, according to the company’s exchange filings.

Domestic Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales fell 2% to 6839 units from 6,949 units last year. Domestic Light commercial vehicle sales grew 42% to 5,520 units in January compared to last year.

Ashok Leyland’s total exports fell 23.3% to 767 units, compared to last year.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. posted total sales of 160,752 units in January 2021 led by utility vehicles, compact segment, LCVs and Vans. This is a growth of 4.3% over the 154,123 units sold in the same month last year, the country’s largest automaker said in a statement.

• Domestic sales barely rose 0.2% at 142,604 units and exports were up 29.3% at 12,445 units.

• Total passenger vehicle sales fell 6.9% to 103,435 units compared to last year

• Mini and compact vehicle segment decline 7.4% to 102,088 units compared to last year.

• Utility vehicle sales continue to see increased demand as sales grew 45.1% over the last year to 23,887 units.

Escorts Ltd.’s agri machinery segment sold 9021 tractors in January , the highest ever recorded in the month, the company said in a statement to the exchanges on Monday. The automaker registered a growth of 48.8% against the tractors sold in the same month last year.

Domestic tractor sales grew 45.6% year-on-year at 8,510 while exports were up 134.4% at 511units.

The company said in the statement that the market situation remains strong on the back of positive macro-economic factors and strong rural cash flows. More so, it no longer expect supply chain issues to be bottleneck, but warn of rising inflation as a concern.

Indian automakers continued to ship more vehicles from their factories than last year, aided by a recovery in demand and a low base even as supply-side constraints persist, according to estimates by four brokerages.

Factory-gate shipments of most automakers for January rose in the range of 3-25% over the year earlier, data compiled from research reports of Motilal Oswal, Emkay Global, Dolat Capital and Prabhudas Lilladher showed. Only Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is expected to report an up to 22% year-on-year decline in wholesales.

The automakers, barring Escorts Ltd. and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., also saw sales rise over the preceding month according to the brokerage estimates.

“Dispatches for Maruti Suzuki and M&M have been affected by supply constraints,” Raghunandhan NL, and Mumuksh Mandlesha, analysts at Emkay Global, said in a separate note. “With good demand and supply chain constraints, the passenger vehicle inventory remains at less than seven days with a waiting period of four-six weeks for fast-selling models.”

The pandemic has fuelled demand for personal mobility. But Indian automakers, recovering from several quarters of slowing sales, have not been able to keep up with supply. A global shortage of microprocessors—the brains of electronic components used to control everything from anti-lock braking to airflow systems of cars—is making a quick ramp-up difficult after Covid-19-led disruption stalled production and sales earlier in the year.

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