India: Encouraging auto sales continues post-festive season
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Car and two-wheeler sales took a breather from the highs of festive months, but still managed a decent run in November with continuation of positive growth trajectory when compared to the sales achieved in the same period last year.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) - India's largest carmaker, has reported 2.4% y-o-y decline in domestic wholesale at 1,35,775 units in Nov '20 against 139,133 units in the corresponding month last year as it had reduced vehicle inventory at dealerships after the festive season which ended with Diwali. Meanwhile, the exports climbed 30% y-o-y to 9,004 units last month as compared to 6,944 units in Nov '19.
Hyundai Motors India Ltd. (HMIL) - the second largest automobile manufacturer, recorded the highest ever sales at 48,800 units in Nov '20, up 9.4% against 44,600 units in the same period last year. Building on the strong momentum driven by festive demand, the newly-launched i20 contributed positively to the sustained growth of the Indian automotive industry.
Tata Motors posted an impressive 108% y-o-y growth, a massive increase in sales at 21,641 units last month compared to 10,400 units sold in Nov '19. The surge in passenger car sales helped the company to arrest the overall decline in its portfolio to mere 4% for Nov where 47,859 units were sold by the company.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) registered double digit growth in SUVs during the month of Nov, aided by a robust festive demand for all their products. The passenger vehicles segment (which includes UVs, Cars and Vans) sold 18,212 vehicles in Nov '20, up 24% y-o-y against 14,637 units in the same period last year. The tractor segment witnessed healthy growth on the back of a strong rural economy and healthy agri output.
Kia Motors Corporation - largest auto manufacturer in South Korea maintained its strong sales momentum by registering total sales of 21,022 units with its Sonet dominating the compact SUV market, up 50% y-o-y last month against 11,417 units in Nov '19.
Honda Motors clocked domestic sales growth of 55% y-o-y at 9,990 units in Nov '20 as against 6,459 units in corresponding month last year.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) - the Japanese automaker, reported a 2.4% y-o-y increase in its domestic sales to 8,508 units last month in comparison to 8,312 units in Nov '19.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd. - the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, sold 5,91,091 units of motorcycles and scooters in Nov '20, a jump of 14% y-o-y against 516,775 units in the same period last year. This was largely aided with its record retail sales of 1,400,000 units in the 32- day period starting from Navratri till Bhai-Duj.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) - Its domestic sales were reported at 4, 12,641 units in Nov '20, up 11% y-o-y compared to 373,283 units a year ago.
TVS Motor Co. Ltd. - Backed by higher demand for two-wheelers, the company registered 30% y-o-y increase in sales of 247,789 units in Nov '20 against 191,222 units Nov '19.
Outlook
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, the automakers were quite hopeful about the festive month and the results have been overwhelming. Not only urban, but customers from tier II, III, and IV markets too are likely to acknowledge the need for personal mobility to maintain personal safety. More improvement in market sentiment is expected in coming months and the auto manufacturers seem confident to continue this positive momentum in the future as well.
