July Auto Sales: Tata Motors Sales Slump 32%; Hero MotoCorp Falls Over 21%

Tata Motors Ltd. sold 32,938 units domestically, a 34 percent drop as subdued demand continued in July.

Commercial vehicle sales in July declined 36 percent over last year, it said in its stock exchange filing. "The market continues to exhibit subdued demand sentiment as customers are postponing purchases given the poor freight availability, the falling freight rates impacting their viability.”

• Domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales declined 46 percent while light commercial vehicle sales fell 21 percent.
• Domestic cargo and pickup sales fell 30 percent.
• Domestic passenger vehicles declined 31 percent.
• Exports too fell 32 percent.

Hero MotoCorp said in its exchange filing that it sold 5,35,810 units of two-wheeler in July, which is 21.2 percent lower than last year’s 6,79,862 units. The company said that the sluggish market environment has spilled over into the second quarter and has impacted dispatch volumes.

The company said that the outlook for the rest of the year will be dependent on multiple factors, including the progress of monsoon and festive season off-take, as well as improvement in the liquidity situation.

Royal Enfield-maker Eicher Motors Ltd. saw monthly sales in July decline 22 percent to 54,185 units.

• Sales of models with engine capacity up to 350cc fell 29 percent to 45,041 units.
• Sales of models with engine capacity over 350cc rose 71 percent to 9144 units.
• Exports shot up 143 percent to 5,003 units.

The shares of Eicher Motors closed 2.5 percent higher at 16,760 each.

Automakers may witness some recovery in the second half of the financial year ending 2020 led by higher passenger vehicle sales and rural demand.

"The sales numbers are more dismal than expected and this is the story across companies and sectors,” said Ashwin Patil, senior analyst at LKP Securities. “Howver,There will be a slight recover in second half of the year leading from passenger car vehicles due to inventory correction and not on account of any macro-level change.”

Patil also said rain deficit in the last two months had impacted tractor sales in July.

TVS Motor’s July sales declined 13 percent to 279,465 units, according to its exchange notification.

The shares dropped as much as 3.8 percent to Rs 354 each after the sales update.

Key Highlights (YoY)

• Two-wheeler sales fell 13.8 percent to 2.66 lakh units. Motorcycle sales fell 11.6 percent to 105,199 units.
• Exports fell 3.6 percent to 69,994 units.
• Three-wheeler sales rose 3 percent to 13,323 units.