November has traditionally been a weak month for auto sales coming as it does after festival season in October. And November 2016 was worse because of the demonetisation announcement. But this year things are likely to turnaround this year.
The low base and a stabilisation in sales over the past few months is likely to help auto companies post strong year-on-year volume growth in November 2017, according to a survey of 35 auto dealers across the country by BloombergQuint.
Two-Wheeler Sales To Overtake Four Wheelers
Two-wheeler sales are estimated to outshine four wheelers led by a robust demand in the scooters category. TVS Motor Ltd.’s Jupiter - which is the second fastest selling scooter after Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India Ltd.’s Activa - and third placed Hero MotoCorp Ltd.’s Maestro are seen as the key beneficiaries of this trend.
Bajaj Auto Ltd., too, is likely to see sales rebound after declining by 13 percent in November 2016 due to the demonetisation effect. Eicher Motors Ltd.’s Royal Enfield sales are also seen improving as its third manufacturing facility in Chennai commenced operations earlier this month.
Passenger Vehicle Sales May Drag
Demand for passenger vehicles may not be as robust as that for two wheelers. This is mainly because of customers deferring the purchase of a new car by a couple of months during year end as they prefer to get their new vehicles registered in the new year and lower the depreciation aspect at the time of resale.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the manufacturer of one in every two cars sold in India, continues to see strong demand for its Baleno and Dzire models, as the company transitions to being a more premium car maker. Brezza continues to command the highest in terms of waiting period of 18 weeks. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s Bolero and Tata Motors Ltd.’s Tigor compact sedan make for the top selling models for the respective companies.
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