India’s auto sales decline by 34pc in June

Sales of major Indian automakers declined 34pc in June from a year ago. Major automaker Maruti Suzuki posted a drop of 54pc in sales in June to 57,428 units, according to monthly sales data released by the company. The automaker sold 76,599 units in Q1 (June quarter). The COVID-19 pandemic has suppressed demand for passenger cars in India. Production across all plants has increased progressively, stated the release.

Tata Motors has decided to release quarterly sales number instead of the monthly break-up, post the pandemic. In Q1, total domestic sales were 23,845 units from 131,879 units sold in the prior year quarter, depicting degrowth of 82pc. Passenger vehicle sales were deeply impacted by COVID-19 in Q1. In April, sales were near-zero levels, a partial recovery was seen in May and a pent-up demand supported a steeper recovery in June, stated a release by Tata Motors.

Two-wheelers producer Bajaj Auto’s sales declined by 31pc to 278,097 units in June from the year prior, while Eicher Motor’s two-wheelers segment (Royal Enfield) registered a drop of 35pc to 38,065 units in June.

TVS Motor, two-wheelers and three-wheelers registered sales of 198,387 units in June, down by 33pc from the year prior. TVS resumed its operations across all its factories in a phased manner. The market is slowly opening post lockdown and there is an uptick in demand, said the company release. There were supply chain disruptions even in June but several countermeasures were taken by the company. Many of these hurdles in the market will be overcome in July, according to TVS Motors’s release.

Hero MotoCorp’s sales fell by 27pc to 450,744 units in June from the year prior. Sales reached to 90pc of pre-COVID levels which shows a revival in demand, according to the company release. June was a highly disrupted month and demand for auto originating only from rural and semi-urban markets as a result of various stimulus packages introduced by the government. Also, the forecast of normal monsoon and upcoming festival season is bound to boost demand in the next few months.

Mahindra & Mahindra auto sales slipped 55pc in June to 19,358 units from 2019. SUV, Truck sales decline in the month but tractor sales rose 10pc in June to 36,544 units boosted by demand from the rural market, which is expected to sustain in the coming months, as per M&M’s monthly sales report.

Farm equipment manufacturer Escorts’ tractor sales rose by 21pc to 10,851 units in June. The company’s inventory levels were the lowest ever in June, stated the company release. In June, Escorts achieved 90pc capacity utilization and the supply chain situation has improved compared to previous months but continues to remain volatile. Escorts also expects the tractor industry to grow significantly on improving rural sentiment and better rural cash flow owing to record crop output.

Korean carmaker, Hyundai Motor India’s sales fell by 54.39pc to 26,820 units in June. Toyota Kirloskar clocked sales of 3,866 units in June, down 66pc from the year prior.