Commercial vehicle sales numbers for November showed a mixed trend. Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors reported a dip in their sales while Mahindra & Mahindra posted a rise.
Ashok Leyland reported a 9% slide in vehicle sales during November. It sold 13,121 vehicles compared to 14,457 units in the same month last year.
Medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) sales stood at 8,718 units (10,638 units), a decline of 18%. Light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales, however, rose 15% to 4,403 units (3,819 units).
Tough market conditions and general liquidity tightness in the system in the wake of the IL&FS imbroglio had combined to put pressure on vehicles sales, sources said. The sales numbers for November were below the expectations of analysts.
Ashok Leyland shares on the BSE declined 4.54% to end the day at ₹107.25.
Tata Motors’ sales drop
Tata Motors reported a 4% drop in commercial and passenger vehicles sales in the domestic market to 50,470 units (52,464 units).
The drop after seven months of rise was “due to low consumer sentiment as a result of liquidity crisis in the industry, higher interest rates and rising fuel costs,” the company said.
Domestic sales of CVs by Tata Motors declined in November to 33,488 units (35,307 units). The M&HCV truck segment fell 24%, to 9,793 units (12,851 units). This segment was largely impacted due to a drop in cargo sales as operators postponed their purchases due to low consumer sentiment.
The I&LCV truck segment reported sales of 4,071 units, a growth of 2% over 3,984 units sold in November 2017.
The SCV Cargo and Pickup segment continued its growth momentum with sales of 16,205 units, up by 8%, over 14,950 units sold in November 2017.
The company’s sales from exports (from CV and PV) in November 2018 was at 4,604 units as against 4,927 units in November 2017.
Girish Wagh, president, commercial vehicles business unit, Tata Motors Ltd., said: “November 2018 was a challenging month for the industry due to low consumer sentiment as a result of liquidity tightening in the market, higher interest rates and rising fuel costs. In certain cases, small operators’ profitability was impacted due to reduced freights on account of the benefits passed by large operators from the GST related credit.”
Mayank Pareek, president, passenger vehicles business unit, Tata Motors Ltd., said: “Due to strong headwinds such as liquidity crunch, higher interest rates and rising fuel costs, the consumer sentiment was muted in November. While this has impacted the overall industry in a major way, we saw a marginal impact. We are positive that we will leave no stones unturned to bounce back at the earliest.”
M&M sales up 17%
Mahindra & Mahindra sold 45,101 vehicles in November 2018, an increase of 17%.
Domestic sales touched 41,564 units (36,039 units) during November 2018.
The passenger vehicle sales (which include UVs, cars and vans) stood at 16,188 vehicles (16,030).
In the commercial vehicles segment, the company sold 19,673 vehicles in November 2018, registering a 26% growth. In the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment, M&M sold 637 vehicles for the month. Exports for November 2018, stood at 3,537 vehicles, a growth of 40%.
Rajan Wadhera, president, automotive sector, M&M Ltd., said: “We have registered a double-digit growth in our overall sales. However, adverse macro-economic conditions have impacted the growth forecast for the automotive industry in general.”
“Going forward, we hope that decrease in fuel prices and improving liquidity will drive demand for passenger vehicles. At Mahindra, we remain upbeat due to our new product launches of Marazzo, Alturas G4 and the upcoming launch of our new SUV codenamed S201,” he said.