Why Escorts Failed To Sell More Tractors In June
No significant pricing changes for tractor segment post GST, says Escorts.
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.’s tractor sales continued to grow in June, with the country’s largest agricultural equipment manufacturer posting a 9 percent, year-on-year, rise in total sales last month.
Prospects of a good monsoon for the second straight year and the progress made on sowing this year will lead to improved market sentiment, said Rajesh Jejurikar, the head of M&M’s farm equipment business.
Escorts Ltd., another tractor manufacturer in the country, had no such luck though, with monthly sales declining 17 percent, year-on-year, last month. De-stocking by dealers who were not willing to take the risk of holding on to old stock before the goods and services tax came into effect from July 1, was one of the main reasons for the sharp drop in sales, said the company in a press statement.
July will be different, said the company’s chief financial officer Bharat Madan in a phone interview to BloombergQuint. He expects dealerships to re-stock and sales to pick up on the back of good monsoons so far. While automakers have gone ahead and cut prices after GST came into effect, the tractor manufacturer said there would hardly be any impact on tractor sales.
