September brings some relief to major commercial vehicle makers

NEW DELHI:  India ’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors Ltd reported total sales of 23,245 units (-4 per cent) in September 2020 compared to 24,279 units for the same period last year. While this may not seem all that impressive, the jump in sales compared to the previous month has been substantial, indicating that much of the pent-up demand that has built up over the past five months is finally starting to leak through to the market.

According to the data released, the country’s second largest CV manufacturer Ashok Leyland’s overall CV sales remained flat at 18,907 units, still an improvement over demand figures recorded in the recent few months. Girish Wagh, president – Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors said, “Tata Motors’ commercial vehicle domestic sales in Q2FY21 at 52,094 units was around 23% lower than Q2FY2020.

However, it was significantly higher than the previous quarter (Q1 FY2021) on the back of gradually increasing demand and improving supply situation. In September, the sale at 23,245 units was 38% higher than last month while being 4.3% below September 2019.

Offtake was higher than retail, as we prepare for sequential improvement in retails in the coming months.” India’s other large commercial vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra, also recorded a relatively good performance as far as its CV segment was concerned. According to the firm, it sold an overall 7,847 units of CVs last month, a positive annual growth rate, while VECV reported a gradual improvement in sales selling a total of 2,940 units.