December Auto Sales: Ashok Leyland Sales Fall 28%; Royal Enfield Sales Decline 13%

Eicher Motors Ltd.’s Royal Enfield sales declined 13 percent to 50,416 units compared to December 2018, according to its exchange filing.

Key Sales Highlights (YoY):

• Models with engine capacity upto 350cc fell 11 percent to 47,788 units.
• Models with engine capacity over 350cc fell 41 percent to 2,628 units.
• Total exports fell 13 percent to 1,927 units.

Shares of the Royal Enfield parent fell as much as 1.9 percent to Rs 21,642.55.

Ashok Leyland’s sales fell 28 percent year-on-year to 11,168 units in December, according to its stock exchange filing.

Key Sales Highlights (YoY)

• Domestic medium and heavy commercial truck sales fell 59 percent to 3,809 units.
• Domestic medium and heavy commercial bus sales rose 85 percent to 2,560 units.
• Total domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales declined 40 percent to 6,369 units.
• Domestic light commercial vehicle sales fell 2 percent to 4,009 units.
• Total domestic vehicle sales fell 29 percent to 10,378 units.

Sales Including Exports (YoY)

• Total medium and heavy commercial truck sales fell 59 percent to 3,958 units.
• Total medium and heavy commercial bus sales rose 87 percent to 3,067 units.
• Total medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales fell 38 percent to 7,025 units.
• Total light commercial vehicle sales fell 1 percent to 4,143 units.
• Shares of the truck and bus maker rose as much as 1.7 percent to Rs 82.40 after the announcement.

Bajaj Auto Ltd.'s sold 3 percent fewer vehicles in December 2019, compared to that last year, led by a slump in domestic motorcycle sales.

The two-wheeler maker sold a total of 336,055 units last month, compared to 346,199 units in December 2018.

Key highlights(YOY):

• Domestic sale of motorcyles fell 21 percent to 124,125 units.
• Export of motorcycles rose 13 percent to 160,677 units.
• Domestic sale of commercial vehicles rose 26 percent to 29,038 units.
• Export of commercial vehicles fell 8 percent to 22,251 units.
• Total domestic sales fell 15 percent to 153,163 units.
• Total exports rose 10 percent to 182,892 units.

Shares of Bajaj Auto erased opening gains and fell as much as 0.7 percent to Rs 3,129.15 after the company announced its December sales data.

Tata Motors Ltd. on Wednesday reported a 13.8 percent decline in total sales to 46,903 units in December. The company had sold a total of 54,439 units in the same month last year.

Total domestic sales were down 12 percent at 44,254 units as compared to 50,440 units in December last year, it added. Passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market during the month stood at 12,785 units as against 14,260 units in the same month previous year, down 10 percent.

Similarly, Tata Motors reported 15 percent decline in total commercial vehicle sales at 34,082 units as against 40,015 units in the year-ago period.

Honda Cars India Ltd. reported a 36 percent decline in domestic sales. The company sold 8,412 units in December 2019, compared to 13,139 units in the same month last year.

The company's export stood at 197 units for the month, the automaker said in a statement.

However, the volumes in December were on expected lines, Honda Cars Senior Vice President and Director - Sales and Marketing, Rajesh Goel said. "In order to avoid any leftover BS-IV stocks, we channelised our resources more towards liquidating them," Goel added.

With PTI inputs

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. reported a 9.9 percent decline in total sales in December to 50,135 units as against 55,638 units in the year-ago month.

• Domestic sales stood at 37,953 units compared to 42,093 units in the same month previous year.
• Exports during the month also fell 10.06 percent to 12,182 units.
• Total sales in 2019 were down 2.6 percent to 6,91,460 units from a year ago.

"The Year 2019 has been a challenging year for the Indian automotive industry. Even in such adverse conditions, Hyundai Motor India as committed has launched 4 new benchmark products in different segments," the automaker's Director Sales, Marketing and Service Tarung Garg said.

With PTI inputs

Tractor maker Escorts Ltd.'s sales fell 10.5 percent to 4,114 units in December as both domestic and export sales fell short compared to that last year.

Domestic sales fell 9.6 percent to 3,806 units while exports fell 20.2 percent to 308 units.

Shares of Escorts extended declines for the second consecutive trading session. The stock fell as much as 3.5 percent to Rs 607.85.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s wholesale auto sales continued to decline in December, falling by 1 percent to 39,230 units.

Passenger car sales rose 4 percent to 15,691 units while utility vehicle sales jumped 10 percent to 15,225 units.

However, sale of commercial vehicles fell 5 percent to 16,018 units while thatof three wheelers rose 14 percent.

Total exports fell 30 percent to 2,149 units.

The sales figures - which includes those made by its subsidiary Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd. - are in-line with the company's outlook, said Veejay Ram Nakra, Chief of Sales and Marketing, Automotive Division.

"As we get into the new year, we are fully equipped to roll out our BSVI products and have taken all requisite measures for a smooth transition over the next three months,” he said.

Tractor sales highlights (YoY)

• Domestic tractor sales rose 4 percent to 17,213 units.
• Tractor sales to other countries fell 13 percent to 777 units.

Shares of M&M pared losses and rose as much as 1.02 percent to 536.95.

MG Motor India on Wednesday reported retail sales of 3,021 units of its sports utility vehicle Hector in December.

Since July, when it started deliveries of its vehicles in India, the car maker had recorded total sales at 15,930 units, MG Motor India said in a statement.

"As a new entrant in the Indian market, the robust sales momentum of our first offering, the Hector, has been very encouraging. We are working closely with our global and local suppliers to increase the production of the Hector in 2020 to support the booking backlog," said Rakesh Sidana, director for sales, MG Motor India.

The company said its second vehicle, an electric SUV, MG ZS will go on sale in the country from this month.

Sidana also said that the company, in line with its focus on customer satisfaction, is constantly evaluating the emerging demand for the Hector in newer markets across India and proactively setting up more service centres closer to prospective customers.

MG Motor India currently has over 150 centers across India and aims to further strengthen its network count to 250 centers by March 2020, it said.

Maruti Suzuki (India) Ltd.'s total auto sales for December rose 3.9 percent year-on-year, according to a statement by the country's largest carmaker. The last month of 2019 saw a growth compared to a 1.9 percent year-on-year contraction in the previous month.

Here are the key highlights:

• Total units sold stood at 133,296 units in December 2019, compared to 128,338 units in December 2018.
• Total export sales grew 10.2 percent to 7,561 units .
• Total domestic vehicle sales grew 2.4 percent to 124,375 units.
• Total domestic passenger vehicle sales rose 2.5 percent to 122,784 units.

The mini segment which includes cars like Alto and the old WagonR saw a contraction of sales at 13.6 percent to 23,883 units.

The compact category - with cars like the new WagonR, Swift, Baleno, Dzire - saw sales growth of 27.9 percent to 65,673 units.

Sale of the mid-sized sedan Ciaz fell 62 percent to 1,786 units.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki erased gains and fell as much as 0.98 percent to 7,296.40 after the announcement.