Tata Motors Ltd. on Sunday reported a 58 percent decline in its domestic passenger vehicle sales at 7,316 units in August. The company had sold 17,351 units in the same month last year, it said in a statement.
Sales in the commercial vehicles segment were down 45 percent at 21,824 units last month as against 39,859 units in Aug. 2018.
The market continued to be challenging, Tata Motors President (Passenger Vehicles) Mayank Pareek said, but the company has focused on improving its retail sales, which saw an uptick of 42 percent.
"We are hopeful that the recently announced financial package by the finance minister will help in improving the liquidity of the market and reducing the ownership cost. This will certainly help the industry to revive and drive growth," Pareek said.
According to Girish Wagh, president (commercial vehicles) at Tata Motors, subdued demand sentiment due to poor freight availability, lower freight rates and general slowdown in economy continued to hamper demand of commercial vehicles.
"System stock reduction through retail focus and aligning production will continue to be our approach, while cautiously monitoring the market in these challenging times," he said, adding that retail sales are estimated to be ahead of wholesale by over 25 percent in August. "We are looking forward to a positive impact of the recently announced stimulus package by the government.”