Low Base Helps Auto Sales Rise In February

Passenger vehicle, truck and two-wheeler sales rose in February, helped by a strong rural demand, new launches and a low base a year ago when volumes were yet to recover after demonetisation.

The low base effect will now taper as sales had started gaining momentum around this time a year ago after the note ban.

Here's how automakers fared in February 2017.

Passenger Vehicles

Sales for India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki Ltd. rose for the thirteenth straight month, driven by demand for its new variant of the popular hatchback Swift.

It sold 1.49 lakh units last month, an increase of 15 percent from February 2017, according to its stock exchange filing. Domestic sales jumped 14.2 percent to 1.37 lakh units, and exports rose 24.9 percent, the most in eight months, to 11,924 units.

Sales of compact cars like the Swift, the Baleno and the Ignis rose 38.7 percent while utility vehicle volumes, including the Ertiga, the S-Cross and the Vitara Brezza, increased 13.8 percent. Sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz declined 16.8 percent to 4,897 units.

Tata Motors' passenger vehicle sales rose 45 percent over the last year as the company sold 17,771 units, led by demand for the Tiago hatchback and the Tigor sedan. The Nexon sub-compact SUV and Hexa SUV gained traction, the company said.

Anand Mahindra-led Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s passenger vehicle sales rose 8 percent to 22,389 units, it said in an stock exchange notification.

Commercial Vehicles

Tata Motors' truck volumes jumped 36 percent as the government's infrastructure push, fresh tenders in car carriers, coal movement and the petroleum sector pushed up demand.

Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles continued to be buoyant in February, with volumes rising 25 percent to 15,241 units year-on-year. Demand for higher tonnage trucks and tippers picked up on the back of stringent restrictions on overloading and replacement buying.

Light truck sales rose 54 percent to 4,810 units, aided by an increased demand from agriculture, FMCG, e-commerce and logistics sectors, the company said.

Chennai-based truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland Ltd. sold 18,181 vehicles last month, 29 percent higher than in February last year, according to its stock exchange notification.

The company's medium and heavy commercial vehicles sales rose 21 percent to 13,726 units, while it sold 63 percent more light commercial vehicles at 4,455 units. M&M's commercial vehicles sales grew 28 percent to 20,946 units last month.

Two-Wheelers

Eicher Motors Ltd., the maker of Royal Enfield motorcycles, saw a spike in demand for motorbikes with engine capacity of up to 350 cc. Sales rose 25 percent to 73,077 units. Sales of models with higher engine capacity rose 55 percent to 5,996 units year-on-year.

Bajaj Auto's overall motorcycle volumes rose 21 percent year-on-year to 2.97 lakh units, with a 23 percent increase in sales in the domestic market.

India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp Ltd. also reported strong sales, driven by demand for scooters “in addition to the continued momentum across in the motorcycle business”, it said. The company sold 629,597 units, a growth of 20 percent over the corresponding month last year. That's the ninth straight month when it sold more than six lakh units.

Tractors

Domestic tractor sales of M&M's farm equipment segment rose 39 percent to 19,280 units. “With the announcement of record horticulture production and increased budget allocations to rural and agriculture sector, we expect the growth momentum to continue in the coming months,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, president, farm equipment sector, M&M.

Escorts Ltd.'s saw its tractor sales rise 52 percent to 6,462 units in February, aided by demand in the local market.