M&M’s September Sales Jump 16%; Forays Into Construction Equipment Business

Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.'s reported a 19 percent jump in domestic sales driven mainly by robust demand tractor sales. The homegrown automaker also announced a foray into construction equipment business by launching its first motor grader.

The company sold 50,456 units in September, compared to 42,545 during the same period last year. Its exports declined 11 percent to 3,207 units, while its total sales rose 16 percent to 53,663 units, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Sales in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment rose 143 percent from September 2016, becoming the best performing category for the company.

Buoyant festive season demand in both rural and urban markets was the key driver of sales during the month, Rajan Wadhera, president of M&M's automotive sector said in a statement.

The Scorpio brand recorded its highest sales since inception, in September 2017, said Wadhera.

Other Highlights

• The utility and passenger vehicles segment recorded a growth of 26 percent and 23 percent respectively.
• Commercial vehicles sales rose 19 percent and three-wheeler sales remained flat at 5,928 units
• Light commercial vehicles of less than 3.5 tonne recorded a growth of 16 percent, whereas light commercial vehicles of more than 3.5 tonne posted a growth of 18 percent.

Farm Equipment Segment

M&M said its tractor sales in September rose 49 percent to 45,563 units, compared with the corresponding month last year. Domestic sales in the segment rose 52 percent while farm equipment export rose merely by 2 percent in this period.

Shares of Mahindra and Mahindra rose as much as 2.97 percent, the most since July 5, to Rs 1,291.5 at 11.30 a.m.

New Foray

The Mumbai-based company rolled out its first motor grader -- Mahindra RoadMaster G75 -- under the business vertical.

"We are targeting to sell around 200 units over the next one year. We already have orders for 50 motor graders as of now," Wadhera told PTI.

The company's motor grader is priced at Rs 34.99 lakh and around one-third of the cost of big ones being sold by other companies, he added. The company would introduce other products after establishing the product in the market, Wadhera said.