Auto Sales In May 2020: Bajaj Auto Exported More Than It Sold In India

After zero sales in April, Indian automakers opted for selling cars online in May as the coronavirus-led lockdown kept most dealerships shut for the second month in a row.

The automakers made a cautious return to production in May after the stay-at-home restrictions were eased to spur economic activity. Exports continued but they form a small part of annual auto sales in India. And while online car sales may simply be a lockdown-spurred fad, it hasn’t deterred automakers from trying.

Here’s a look at the auto sales in May 2020:

India’s second largest two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. has reported total wholesale of 54,820 units for May.

This includes 54,000 domestic dispatches and 820 exports, the company said in a statement. In terms of retail sales, the company said that in May, it crossed the1.15-lakh units mark.

"May 2020 saw the wheels of business start turning slowly after the zero dispatch in the month of April 2020,” Yadvinder Singh Guleria, HMSI’s director of sales, said in a statement. “By now, a sizable 70% of Honda dealerships have resumed operations."

HMSI restarted production at its Narsapura plant in Karnataka from May 25. Its other three plants at Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan) and Vithalapur (Gujarat) will reopen after the first week of June.

Sales of Bajaj Auto Ltd. fell 70% year-on-year to 127,128 units in May as against 419,235 units in the same month last year.

Break-up of the Bajaj Auto sales in May 2020:

• Domestic two-wheelers: 39,286 units vs 205,721 a year ago—81% decline
• Two-wheeler exports: 73,512 units units vs 159,347 a year ago—54% decline
• Domestic commercial vehicles: 788 units vs 30,103 a year ago—97% decline
• Commercial-vehicle exports: 13,542 units vs 24,064 a year ago—44% decline

Two- and three-wheeler maker TVS Motor Co. Ltd. sold 58,906 vehicles in May after resuming operations that were suspended due to coronavirus lockdown.

The company sold 56,218 two-wheelers and 2,688 three-wheelers last month. The figure includes exports, it said in a statement on Monday.

TVS resumed operations in India across its factories in Hosur, Mysuru and Nalagarh on May 6, 2020, undertaking exhaustive safety measures.

"We are seeing a progressive opening of dealerships across the country and overseas in the last two weeks of May and increasing further into June. We are also witnessing a steady pick-up in customer retail since the last few days," the statement read.

Sales of Ashok Leyland Ltd. fell 89% year-on-year to 1,420 units in May, the truckmaker said on Monday. The company had sold 13,172 units in the year-ago period.

Break-up of Ashok Leyland's domestic sales in May:

• Medium and heavy commercial vehicles: 151 units versus 8,635 a year ago—indicating 98% decline.
• Light commercial vehicles: 1,277 units versus 12,778 a year ago—indicating 90% decline.

The company exported 115 heavy-duty trucks and buses and 28 light commercial vehicles in the previous month.

Sales of Royal Enfield motorcycles fell 69% year-on-year to 19,113 units in May, parent Eicher Motors Ltd. said on Monday. The company sold 62,371 units in the year-ago period.

Break-up of Royal Enfield sales in May 2020:

• Upto 350 cc motorcycles: 17,543 units versus 55,833 a year ago.
• Over 350 cc motorcycles: 1,570 units versus 6,538 a year ago.

The company's exports fell 68% year-on-year to 684 units.

Royal Enfield resumed operations at its manufaturing facilities on May 6, 2020, Eicher Motors said in an exchange filing. Nearly two-thirds of the company's dealerships are operational now.

Sales of Hero MotoCorp Ltd. fell 82.71% year-on-year to 112,682 units in May, India’s largest two-wheeler maker said Monday. The company had sold 652,028 motorcycles and scooters in the year-ago period.

Break-up of the company’s sales in May 2020:

• Motorcycles: 106,038 units versus 606,216 a year ago.
• Scooters: 6,644 units versus 45,812 a year ago.

Hero MotoCorp sold 108,848 units in India while 3,834 units were exported, the firm said in a statement.

All six manufacturing facilities of the company in India have now resumed operations with limited production, according to the statement. Its plants in Colombia and Bangladesh also restarted production during May.

Nearly 5,000 customer touch-points of Hero MotoCorp have re-opened with strict safety measures in place, according to the restart manual shared by the company. These outlets contribute 85% of the company’s domestic sales.

Sales at Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.'s farm equipment division remained nearly flat in May, indicating that India’s agri sector may have benefited from the relaxation in the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The company sold 24,017 tractors last month, or 2% more than the 23,539 units sold in the year-ago period. Exports took a nosedive—falling 72% to just 324 units.

“The timely relaxation of the lockdown for the agricultural sector helped ensure the speedy recovery of tractor demand during May,” Hemant Sikka, president-farm equipment sector at Mahindra and Mahindra, said in a statement.

Going ahead, Sikka sees farmer sentiment remaining positive due to robust rabi crop production, higher procurement, good price realisations and the forecast of a normal monsoon that bodes well for a good kharif crop.

“All these augur well for tractor demand going forward,” he said.

Sales of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.’s auto division declined 79% year-on-year to 9,560 units in May, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Break-up of Mahindra’s auto sales in May:

• Passenger vehicles: 3,867 units versus 20,608 units a year ago.
• Commercial vehicles: 5,170 units versus 17,879 units a year ago.
• Exports: 484 units versus 2,365 units a year ago.

The company’s overall automotive sales (domestic + exports) stood at 9,560 units in May 2020, compared to 45,421 units during May 2019.

“We have opened 70% of our dealerships and retail sales have begun,” Veejay Nakra, chief executive officer at Mahindra’s automotive division said in the statement.

“We are seeing initial traction for our small CVs and SUV brands such as the Bolero and Scorpio. As new lockdown norms are being announced we are hopeful of demand gaining traction in the coming months,” he said.

Hyundai Motor India Pvt. Ltd. has reported a 78.7% decline in total sales at 12,583 units in May. The company had reported sales of 59,102 units in May 2019.

Domestic sales during the last month were down 83.8% to 6,883 units as against 42,502units in May 2019. The company said it exported 5,700 units during the last month as compared to 16,600 units in May last year.

"The company has made a humble beginning towards normalcy by registering sales of 12,583 for the month of May," Tarun Garg, Hyundai India's director for sales, marketing and service, said in a statement. “This performance was possible on account of strong customer interest and demand for products like Creta, Verna and Venue.”

Farm equipment maker Escorts Ltd. has reported a 3.4% decline in total tractor sales at 6,594 units in May. The company had sold a total of 6,827 units in the same month last year, it said in a regulatory filing.

Domestic tractor sales declined marginally at 6,454 units as against 6,488 units in May last year, the company added. Exports during the month stood at 140 units as against 339 units last year, down 58.7%, it said.

MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd. sold 710 units of its Hector SUV in May, amid supply chain constraints induced by the coronavirus lockdown.

The company has resumed production at its Halol manufacturing plant in Gujarat at 30% capacity utilisation, MG Motor India said in a statement. About 65% of showrooms and service stations across the country are also operational with reduced manpower.

Commenting on business resumption and sales performance, MG Motor India Director (Sales) Rakesh Sidana said, "Supply chain disruption coupled with strict credit financing along with non-operation of some dealerships due to the lockdown have impacted our sales in May."

Sidana said that the company hopes to restore normalcy from July onwards. "All of our vehicles' stocks across channels and dealership inventory are BS-VI units," he added.

The company said as part of its 'Phase 2' expansion plan, the carmaker is introducing the ZS EV in six new cities, including Pune, Surat, Cochin, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Chennai, from June 2020. Besides, it is also expanding the presence of the electric vehicle across 11 markets in India.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. reported a 86.23% decline in total sales at 18,539 units in May. The company had sold 1,34,641 units in May last year, the country’s biggest carmaker said in a statement.

Domestic car sales declined 88.93% year-on-year to 13,888 units in May. The company exported 4,651 units last month, down 48.82% from the year-ago period.

Maruti Suzuki said it resumed operations from May 12 at its Manesar facility and May 18 at its Gurugram facility, strictly in accordance with the government’s regulations and guidelines after lockdown restrictions were eased.

Production also resumed at Suzuki Motor Gujarat from May 25, it said. The company’s showrooms started opening in a graded manner across different cities.