November Auto Sales Live: Bajaj Auto Falls 1%, Hero MotoCorp Slumps 15.3%

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. on Monday said its car sales fell 18.86 percent year-on-year to 9,241 units in November 2019. The company had sold 11,390 units in the same month last year.

The carmaker’s domestic sales stood at 8,312 units as against 10,721 units in the year-ago month, a decline of 22 percent. Exports were up 38.86 percent at 929 units in November as compared to 669 units in the same month a year ago.

The company is working towards liquidating stocks by December and a smooth transition to Bharat Stage VI emission norms, Toyota Kirloskar said.

"We have consciously lowered the volume of vehicles sold to dealers to ensure lean inventory/avoid high market offers, we are adjusting our production to ensure we do not put any excess burden on our dealerships before the shift to BS-VI in April 2020," N Raja, deputy managing director of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said in a statement.

TVS Motor Company Ltd.'s sales fell 17 percent to 2,66,582 units in November as against sales of 3,19,965 units in the month year ago.

Key Sales Highlights (YoY)

• Total two-wheeler registered sales dropped 18 percent to 249,350 units in October 2019 as against sales of 3,07,142 units in the same period last year.
• Three-wheeler sales of the company grew by 34 percent to 17,232 units registered in the period.
• Total exports grew 27 percent to 74,060 units in September.
• Two-wheeler exports rose 24 percent to 58,128 units.

Sales of India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd. fell 15.3 percent year-on-year to To 516,775 units. The maker of Splendor motorcycles had sold 610,252 units in November 2018.

In November 2019, Hero MotoCorp sold 479,200 motorcycles while the rest were scooters. Exports for the month stood at 10,781 units.

Sales of Escorts tractors fell 5 percent year-on-year to 7,642 units in November, the farm equipment maker said in an exchange filing on Monday.

Escorts Ltd.’s domestic sales declined 3.4 percent to 7,379 units while exports fell 27.7 percent to 263 units, the filing showed.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. on Monday said its sales fell 25 percent year-on-year to 9,377 units in November as the festive season failed to provide a respite from the auto sector slowdown in India. Total sales, domestic and exports, fell 22 percent to 10,175 units.

The commercial-vehicles maker sold 5,321 heavy-duty trucks and buses in the domestic market during the month, a 36% decline from 8,260 units sold a year ago. Sales of light commercial vehicles fell 6 percent year-on-year to 4,056 units in November 2019.

Sales of Bajaj Auto Ltd. fell 1 percent year-on-year to 4.03 lakh in November. The decline would have been steeper, had it not been for exports.

Key Sales Highlights (YoY)

• Domestic motorcycle sales fell 14 percent to 3.43 lakh units.
• Motorcycle exports rose 18 percent to 1.67 lakh units.
• Total motorcycle sales fell 1 percent 3.43 lakh units.
• Domestic commercial vehicles sales rose 6 percent to 31,438 units.
• Commercial vehicles’ exports fell 8 percent to 28,339 units.
• Total commercial vehicle sales fell 1 percent to 59,777 units.
• Total domestic sales fell 12 percent to 2.07 lakh units.
• Total exports rose 14 percent to 1.95 lakh units.

Honda Cars India Ltd. on Sunday reported 50.33 percent decline in domestic sales to 6,459 units in November as against 13,006 units in the same month last year.

"Our sales numbers are better than our plan for the month," Rajesh Goel, senior vice president and director (sales and marketing) at Honda Cars India, said in a statement.

The company is in the last leg of introducing products compliant with Bharat Stage-VI emission norms, he added.

Tata Motors Ltd. on Sunday reported a 25.32 percent decline in total sales to 41,124 units in November. The company had sold a total of 55,074 units in the same month last year.

Total domestic sales were down 25 percent at 38,057 units as compared to 50,470 units in November last year, it added. Passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market during the month stood at 10,400 units as against 16,982 units in the same month previous year, down 39 percent.

Similarly, Tata Motors reported 19 percent decline in total commercial vehicle sales at 30,588 units as against 37,957 units in the year-ago period.

Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. on Sunday reported a 9 percent decline in total sales in November at 41,235 units. The company had sold 45,101 units in the corresponding month last year.

In the domestic market, sales were down 7 percent at 38,614 units in November as compared to 41,564 units in November 2018. Exports also declined 26 percent to 2,621 units as against 3,537 units in the year-ago month.

"The month post the festive season is historically a lean month for the automotive industry. Consumer demand, especially for passenger vehicles, typically picks up in the year-end that is in December. Therefore, we expect December to pan out better for the automotive industry," Veejay Ram Nakra, chief of sales and marketing (automotive) at Mahindra.

In the farm equipment segement, domestic sales in November stood at 20,414 units as against 25,159 units in the same month last year. Exports for the month stood at 618 units.

Total tractor sales (domestic + exports) during November 2019 stood at 21,032 units as against 25,949 units in the same month last year.

"With government support on agri and rural sector and healthy reservoir levels due to the above normal monsoon, we expect a good rabi output in the coming months,” Rajesh Jejurikar, president (farm equipment sector) at Mahindra, said in a statement.

Hyundai Motor India Pvt. Ltd. on Sunday reported a 7.2 percent increase in total sales at 60,500 units in November. The company had sold 56,411 units in the same month last year.

Domestic sales were up 2 percent at 44,600 units as against 43,709 units in November 2018. Exports stood at 15,900 units last month, up 25.2 percent from 12,702 units in November 2018.

Sales of Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. grew by more than 17 percent to 2,937 units in November, according to a company statement. VW sales had risen in October as well.

“Amid tough market conditions, the Volkswagen brand has consistently delivered its value proposition to customers in this region,” said Steffen Knapp, director at VW.

MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd. on Sunday said it retailed 3,239 Hector sports utility vehicles in November.

"The sustained momentum highlights how our debut offering in India continues to win the hearts of our customers," Rakesh Sidana, director of sales at MG Motor India, said in a statement.

The company is focused on expanding its service network to cater to the service needs of customers, he said. "Most of the expansion in the next few months will be on dedicated service outlets.”

MG Motor India currently has over 150 centres across India and aims to further strengthen its network count to 250 centres by March 2020.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. on Sunday reported a 1.9 percent decline in sales at 1,50,630 units in November.

The company had sold 1,53,539 units in November last year, Maruti Suzuki said in a statement. Domestic sales declined 1.6 percent to 1,43,686 units last month as against 1,46,018 units in November 2018.

Sales of small cars, comprising Alto and WagonR, fell 12.2 percent—from 29,954 units in Nov. 2018 to 26,306 units last month. Sales in the compact segement, that includes models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, rose 7.6 percent to 78,013 units as against 72,533 cars in November last year.

Mid-sized sedan Ciaz sold 1,448 units as compared to 3,838 units earlier.

Sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, declined 1.3 percent to 23,204 units as compared to 23,512 in the year-ago month.

Exports in November were down by 7.7 percent at 6,944 units as against 7,521 units in the corresponding month last year, the company said.

Also Read: Hyundai-Kia May Dent Maruti Suzuki’s Market Share: Autocar Editor