June Auto Sales Live: Maruti Sales Jump Threefold; M&M, Tata Motors Too See Rebound

Royal Enfield, the maker of India's cult cruiser motorcycles, saw its sales rose 58% to 43,048 units in June, the company said in the filings.

Sales snapshot (M-o-M)

• Sales of models with engine capacity up to 350 cc rose to 37,258 units from 22,754 units in May.

• Sales of models with capacity over 350cc jumped to 5,790 units from 4,560 units in May.

• Exports however marginally rose to 7,233 units from 7,221 units in May.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. reported an overall sales of 6,448 units in June, according to the company’s exchange filings on Thursday.

The automaker's sales rose 102% over May.

• Domestic sales rose to 5,851 units from 2,738 units in May.

• Domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales rose to 2,364 units from 1,513 units in May.

• Domestic Light commercial vehicle sales too jumped to 3,487 units in May.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s passenger vehicles business posted total sales of 32,964 units in June, an increase of 89% over May, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Sales Snapshot (MoM) -

• Passenger vehicle sales doubled to 16,913 units in June .

• Commercial vehicle segment, including electric three wheelers, sold 16,051 units in June.

"With the opening up of the market in a phased manner, we are seeing a boost in demand in both urban and rural and we expect the upward trend in demand to continue across all segments and markets,” Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd said in a statement.

Nakra added that the company's supply chain has also stabilized except for the global semiconductor issue which still continues to be a challenge.

The Farm Equipment segment too saw sales rebound as the tractor sales nearly doubled over May to 48,222 units.

Hemant Sikka, President of Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in a statement said that the arrival of timely monsoon, increase in MSP rates for key kharif crops, and continued strong government support to all the agri activities is also giving strong momentum to the tractor demand.

Tata Motors Ltd.’s passenger vehicle division sold 24,110 units in June, the company said in a statement.

Passenger vehicle sales rose 59% over last month as the demand starts to recover with the easing of lockdown restrictions across the country.

Sales snapshot (MoM)

• Overall Tata Motors’ domestic sales rose 78% to 43,704 units

• Total domestic commercial vehicle sales too rose to 22,100 units in June from 11,401 units in May.

India's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. posted total sales of 1,47,368 units in June, an increase of 217% over the 46,555 units it sold in May. The demand is led by strong growth seen both in mini and compact vehicles segment, and utility vehicle segment with the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Sales snapshot (MoM)

• Exports rose to 17,237 units from 11,262 units in May.

• Mini and compact vehicle segment rose nearly four-fold to 97,359 units.

• Utility vehicle sales too saw strong growth as the sales rose to 25,484 units from 6,355 units in May.

Sales of MG Motor India rose by three-fold in the month of June to 3,558 units as the phasing out of lockdown led to increase in enquiries and bookings, the company said in the statement.

The automaker had sold 1,016 units in May.

“We are seeing early signs of positive consumer sentiment in June and potential purchases due to pent-up demand, which was on hold due to the pandemic," Rakesh Sidana, Director – Sales, MG Motor India, said in the statement.

Sidana said even though some markets are still under lockdown, he expects the demand to increase during the festival season.

Besides the potential third wave threat, the company's production levels will remain to be impacted in July-August due to the global shortage of semiconductor chips.

Bajaj Auto Ltd. too reported strong pickup in sales in June.

The Pune-based automaker sold 3,46,136 units in June, an increase of 27.3% over May, according to its exchange filing.

Sales snapshot (M-o-M)

• Total domestic two-wheeler sales more than doubled to to 1,55,640 units.

• Total two-wheeler exports fell 14% to 1,54,938 units.

• Total commercial vehicle sales rose 13.5% to 35,558 units.

Escorts Ltd.’s agri machinery segment sold 12,533 tractors in June, the company said in a statement to the exchanges on Thursday.

The automaker's tractor sales rose 95.1% over the last month as the lockdown restrictions started to ease in a scattered manner across the country.

In the domestic market, Escorts sold 11,956 units, while in overseas markets it sold 577 units.

"The on-ground situation eased in June as the second wave of pandemic started diluting," the company said in the filings, adding that most of its dealerships were open except in few pockets.

Escorts added that the company's inventory levels remained normal, and it remain optimistic for the rest of the fiscal year due to timely and expected above-normal monsoon, increase in MSP prices, and record direct procurement by government.

"The commercial activity also is expected to gain further momentum in the ensuing months."

However inflation continues unabated beyond industry expectations and may put pressure on the margins.

"While we are trying to offset a part of this through internal cost control measures, we have announced a significant price hike effective July 1 on all tractors."

Sales of automobiles in June are expected to improve across segments as lockdowns imposed to curb the deadlier second Covid-19 wave eased gradually.

The recovery trends, however, may vary from state to state.

Auto sales had slumped in May over the preceding month on fresh curbs in several states and companies suspending manufacturing.