Bajaj Auto’s Rough Ride Continues In June
Bajaj Auto’s sales fell for the fourth straight month
- Sales decline 23 percent in June
- Exports decline 4 percent
- Fourth straight month of sales decline
- Overall domestic sales decline 34 percent in June
Bajaj Auto Ltd.'s sales fell for the fourth straight month in June, dragged down by a decline in demand for its motorcycles.
The Pune-based company sold 2,44,878 units in June, down 23 percent over the same month last year. Sales have fallen in all except two of the last 13 months.
Bajaj’s lack of presence in the rural market is adding to its underperformance, said Ashwin Patil, equity research analyst who tracks automobile and ancillary sector at brokerage LKP Securities. “The company has been over-dependent on the Discover and Pulsar platforms. Although the Platina is doing well, it is not enough to post strong domestic numbers. The strategy is flawed.”
The company didn’t immediately respond to BloombergQuint’s emailed request for a comment.
Bajaj sold 1,08,109 motorcycles in India last month, a drop of 36 percent over a year ago. Its commercial vehicle sales too fell 25 percent to 18,866 units. Overall, sales in India fell 34 percent last month.
Exports Down
Exports fell by 4 percent to 1,17,903 units. The company sold more commercial vehicles abroad than in India. Three-wheeler sales grew by 15 percent to 21,345 units outside the country, while motorcycle exports declined by 8 percent year-on-year to 96,558 units.
Geopolitical issues in Egypt and Nigeria hampered the company’s export business while some revival is expected from Southeast Asia and Latin America, Patil said.
