September Auto Sales: Bajaj Auto Reports Record Sales; Maruti Suzuki Disappoints Again

The Faridabad-based company rose sold 10,617 tractors in September, a 2.5 percent rise from corresponding month last year.

“We already had a high base last year because of GST and also the festive season started in September,” said Bharat Madan, group financial controller at Escorts Ltd, in an interaction with Bloombergquint. “This year it has shifted to October-November, so you will have a strong growth happening in third quarter.”

Key sales highlights (year on year):

• Domestic sales rose 2.5 percent to 10,396 units.
• Exports rose 5.7 percent to 221 units.

Watch the full interaction here:

The Royal Enfield manufacturer saw two wheeler sales rise by 2 percent to 71,662 units in September. The company reported a loss of production to the tune of 10,000 motorcycles last month. Eicher Motors said in a filing that a section of its workforce had not reported to work since Sept. 24 at its Oragadam factory near Chennai.

Key sales highlights (year on year):

Models with engine capacity up to 350cc saw sales rose 2 percent to 67582 units.

• Models with engines over 350cc saw a 6 percent dip in sales to 4,080 units.
• Exports grew 54 percent to 1,597 units.

Hero MotorCorp sold 7.69 lakh units in September, its highest-ever sales in any single month, according to its exchange filing.

“The long term macro fundamentals of the two-wheeler industry continue to remain strong and we are optimistic of a good festival season.” the company said in a press statement.

TVS Motors sales rises 18 percent to 4.24 lakh units compared to corresponding month last year.

Key sales highlights (year-on-year)

• Two-wheeler sales rose 17 percent to 4.11 lakh units.
• Scooter sales rose 17 percent to 1.43 lakh units.
• Three-wheeler sales rose 48 percent to 13,282 units.
• Exports was up 20 percent to 61,192 units.

Tata Motors Ltd. sold 64,250 units last month, an increase of 20 percent from the year-ago period, according to its stock exchange notification.

Key sales highlights (year-on-year)

• Domestic passenger vehicle sales up 7 percent at 18,429 units.
• Domestic commercial vehicle sales up 26 percent at 46,169 units.
• Medium and heavy commercial truck sales up 32 percent at 16,239 units.
• Exports up 35 percent at 5,250 units.

The stock rose as much as 3 percent to Rs 230.50 after the monthly sales numbers were announced.

Key sales highlights (year on year):

• Passenger vehicles sales fell 16 percent to 21,411 units.
• Utility vehicles sales declined 18 percent to 19,885 units.
• Total domestic sales rose 1 percent to 51,268 units.
• Total exports rose 17 percent to 3,754 units.

“September has been muted for passenger vehicles due to factors such as low consumer buying sentiment, high fuel prices and the effects of monsoon in many parts of the country.” said Rajan Wadhera, president of the company’s automotive sector, in a press release.

A delayed festive season, rising oil prices and a higher base are likely slow down auto sales in September, according to a BloombergQuint poll of analysts.

Rising fuel prices and hardening interest rates impact demand for cars and two-wheelers. Recent price hikes to offset commodity costs and a weaker rupee can also hurt demand.

Hero MotorCorp. and Bajaj Auto’s domestic motorcycle sales expected to slow down due to a delay festive season and a higher base.

Double Digit Growth Expected In Trucks:

Nomura expects a double-digit growth only for the medium and heavy trucks. Ashok Leyland’s strong demand in the medium and heavy vehicles segment to drive sales for September.

Ashok Leyland Ltd.’s sales rose 28 percent on a yearly basis to 17,386 units in September, according to its exchange filing.

Sales highlights (year-on-year):

• Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles rose 21 percent to 14,232 units.
• Sales of light commercial vehicles rose 44 percent to 5,141 units.

The stock swung between gains and losses to trade at Rs 117.40 apiece.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.’s sales fell for the third month in a row. The country’s largest automaker sold 1.62 lakh units last month, a decline of 0.5 percent from the year-ago period, according to its exchange filing.

Sales highlights (year-on-year):

• Sales in mini segment vehicles declined 9.1 percent to 34,971 units.
• Sales in compact segment rose 1.7 percent to 74,011 units.
• Sales in utility vehicles segment rose 8.7 percent to 21,637 units.
• Sales in vans segment gained 6.6 percent to 14,645 units.
• Overall domestic sales were up 1.4 percent to 1.53 lakh units.
• Overall exports declined 25.4 percent to 8,740 units.

The stock declined nearly 2 percent to Rs 7,206 apiece as of 10:10 a.m.

Bajaj Auto reported a 17 percent year-on-year increase in sales at 5.02 lakh units in September, its highest-ever monthly sales, according to its exchange filing. It sold 4.37 lakh units in August.

Sales highlights (year-on-year):

• Domestic motorcycle sales rose 12 percent to 2.73 lakh units.
• Motorcycle exports rose 29 percent to 1.58 lakh units.
• Overall motorcycle sales rose 17 percent to 4.31 lakh units.
• Domestic commercial vehicle sales rose 12 percent to 38,474 units.
• Commercial vehicle exports rose 32 percent to 32,596 units.
• Overall commercial vehicle sales rose 20 percent to 71,070 units.
• Overall domestic sales rose 11 percent to 3.12 lakh units.
• Overall exports rose 30 percent to 1.91 lakh units.

Key sales highlights (year on year):

• Farm equipment domestic sales fell 19 percent to 35,983 units.
• Farm equipment exports rose 10 percent to 1,628 units.

Shares of the utility vehicles maker fell nearly 1.3 percent to Rs 850.30 apiece.