March Auto Sales Live: TVS Motor Sales Down 56%, Hero MotoCorp’s Falls 42%

TVS Motor Ltd.’s sales fell 55.5 percent year-on-year to 1.44.739 units, according to the exchange filing.

“There has been a huge impact on the Company’s production and sales this month because of Covid-19 lockdown across the country,”it said. While the company has launched BS-VI versions of its entire portfolio which have been well received, “due to the lockdown, there was a significant loss in production, and also vehicle stock in the factory for both domestic and international markets, which could not be dispatched,” it added.

Two-Wheeler Sales

• Total two-wheelers registered sales of 133,988 units in March 2020 as against 310,885 units in March 2019.
• Domestic two-wheelers recorded sales of 94,103 units in March 2020 as against 247,694 units in March 2019.
• Motorcycles registered sales of 66,673 units in March 2020 as against sales of 141,086 units in March 2019.
• Scooter sales of the Company registered 34,191 units in March 2020 as against sales of 98,477 units in March 2019.

Exports

• The company's total exports registered sales of 50,197 units in the month of March 2020 as against sales of 76,405 units in March 2019.
• Two-wheeler exports registered sales of 39,885 units in March 2020 as against sales of 63,191 units in March 2019.

Three-Wheeler Sales

• Three-wheeler of the company registered sales of 10,751 units in March 2020 as against sales of 14,438 units in Mach 2019.

Total sales of bike maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd. fell 42 percent year-on-year in March, joining the band of peers who have been hit by the coronavirus outbreak and the consequent lockdown.

Total sold units for the month stood at 3,34,647 units, according to the company exchange filing.

“Covid-19 has resulted in interrupted supply chains, halted production and lock-down, leading to no retails,”the company said reminding that it shut down all its production facilities on March 22.

Key Highlights

• Total domestic sales fell 42.7 percent to 316685 units.
• Total exports fell 35.8 percent to 17,962 units.
• Motorcycle sales fell 42.9 percent to 305883 units
• Scooter sales fell 36.5 percent to 38,764 units.

The company also elevated Naveen Chauhan as Head of Sales and After Sales, with immediate effect from today, April 1st, 2020. Chauhan was leading the After Sales and Parts business, Customer Experience and Service before his current role of National Sales Head.

Eicher Motors Ltd., the maker of Royal Enfield motorcycles, saw total sales decline 41 percent in March mainly due to a decline in models with engine capacity up to 350 cc.

• Total sales fell 41 percent to 35,814 units year-on-year.
• Sales of models with engine capacity up to 350cc fell 45 percent to 30,372 units.
• Sales of models with engine capacity over 350 cc fell 9 percent to 5,442 units.
• Exports rose 33 percent to 3,184 units.

The company said that it has closed all its domestic manufacturing and sales operations till April 14.

Sales of Tata Motors Ltd. fell 84 percent year-on-year to 11,012 units in March. The automaker had sold 68,727 units in the year-ago period.

• Domestic Sales down 84% at 11,012 units vs 68,727 units
• CV Sales down 87% at 7,123 units vs 56,536 units
• PV Sales down 68% at 5,676 units vs 17,810 units

Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, plans to separate its cars business from trucks and buses, as the company seeks partners for a unit slammed by the coronavirus outbreak and a global shift to electric vehicles.

“The recent outbreak of Covid-19 increases the challenges faced by the business,” Tata Motors said in a statement on March 27. “This decision is a first step in our plans to secure mutually beneficial strategic alliances for the domestic PV business and help secure its long-term viability.”

Sales of tractor maker Escorts Ltd. fell 54.3 percent year-on-year to 5,228 units in March. That coompares with the 11,905 tractors that the company sold a year ago.

Domestic tractor sales stood at 5,228 in March 2020 against 11,431 a year ago, while exports fell to 216 from 474 last year, Escorts said in an exchange filing.

The March auto sales numbers are not comparable with the corresponding period last year, as sales were impacted by the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

Escorts sales for the full fiscal year fell 11.90 percent—from 93,323 units in FY19 to 82,252 units in FY20.

Sales of Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles, a unit of Eicher Motors Ltd., fell 82.7 percent year-on-year to 1,499 units in March, the company said in an exchange filing. VECV had sold 8,676 units in the year-ago period.

Hinduja Group's flagship firm Ashok Leyland Ltd. has reported 90 percent decline in total vehicles sales at 2,179 units in March. The company had sold 21,535 units in the same month last year.

Total domestic vehicles sales stood at 1,787 units in March against 20,521 units in the year-ago period—a decline of 91 percent.

Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles in domestic market fell 90 percent—from 15,235 units in March 2019 to 1,498 units last month. Light commercial vehicle sales stood at 289 units as compared to 5,286 units in March 2019, down 95 percent.

MG Motor India has reported total retail sales of 1,518 units in March 2020, including 116 ZS EV and 1,402 Hector SUV.

"Both MG Hector and MG ZS EV have made a mark in the Indian car market. Despite supply chain disruption globally, MG Motor continues to serve its customers,” Rajeev Chaba, president and managing director at the company, said in a statement.

"In February, our sales were impacted due to the disruption, while situation improved during March before the lockdown was announced, resulting in the shutting down of our manufacturing plant,” he added.

The company's current focus is on the health and well-being of its employees and their families, as well as the society at large, Chaba said.

With zero stock of BS-IV units across dealerships and factory, MG Motor India recently started production of BS-VI variants. However, it currently has very low BS-VI inventory at its dealerships and its manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat.

Sales of India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., fell 47 percent year-on-year to 83,792 units in March, an exchange filing showed. The company had sold 158,076 cars in the year-ago period.

The local subsidiary of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd. sold 79,080 units in the domestic market—a decline of 46 percent from 147,613 units sold a year ago. Exports fell 55 percent—from 10,463 units in March 2019 to 4,712 units last month.

Maruti Suzuki has ended fiscal 2019-20 with total sales of 1,563,297 units.

To be sure, Maruti Suzuki said its auto sales in March 2020 are not comparable to those a year ago due to “suspension of operations with effect from March 22, 2020, in line with national policy". The 21-day coronavirus lockdown in India that started March 24 has brought to a halt all non-essential goods and services in the country.

The company said it remains committed to the safety and well-being of its employees, business partners and customers and that it will continue to support the government and follow all advisories in combating Covid-19.

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to have worsened the auto sector's troubles in March, when they were in the midst of shifting to stricter emission norms.

Data compiled from four brokerage reports suggest a 29-71 percent drop in factory-gate shipments of passenger cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, as buyers stayed away amid the nationwide lockdown and dealers waited to exhaust BS-IV stock.

To be sure, India's automakers were already reeling under a demand slump caused by an increased upfront insurance cost and weak consumer sentiment in the economy, when Covid-19 dealt a fresh blow. The pain could be long-drawn as leading automobile manufacturers have already suspended production at their manufacturing facilities to contain the spread of the virus.

In some relief to automobile dealers, Supreme Court has allowed sale of 10 percent of BS-IV inventory beyond the March 31 deadline.

But will that help? Track latest news updates on March auto sales here: