Auto players still on bumpy road; report weak sales data

The auto players continue to go through a rough drive and reported weak sales numbers for the month of July 2019.

Maruti Suzuki, the leader of the passenger car space, posted a decline of 33.5 per cent in total sales in the month of July. It sold a total of 1,09,264 units in July 2019 which includes 1,00,006 units in the domestic market and 9,258 units of exports. It has registered de-growth of 35.1 per cent YoY in sales of Domestic Passenger Vehicles. Also, exports sales de-grew by 9.4 per cent YoY.

Bajaj Auto posted a decline in sales by 5 per cent for the first time in 2 years in the month of July 2019 with a total number of units sold at 3,81,530. Sale of motorcycles jumped by 3 per cent YoY whereas CV sales was declined by 15 per cent yoy.

Ashok Leyland, which offers a range of trucks and heavy vehicles, posted poor numbers for the month of July. The total number of vehicles sold in July 2019 was 10,927, showing 28 per cent YoY decline. Domestic sales declined by 29 per cent with sales of 10,101 vehicles in July 2019. Total sales of M&HCV declined by 39 per cent YoY and sale of LCV remains muted.

Eicher Motors, which manufactures the iconic bike ‘Royal Enfield’ also caters to commercial vehicles, posted negative numbers with a decline in total sales in July 2019 by 32.1 per cent YoY. Its domestic sales declined by 28.4 per cent YoY. Exports also declined by 59.6 per cent YoY.

With this weak auto sales numbers, on Thursday, the Nifty auto index made an intraday low of 6,783 and at 14:18 hours, Nifty Auto index was trading at 6,806.05, down by 42.30 points. Looking at the stock movements of the automakers, the stock of Maruti Suzuki gained nearly 2 per cent whereas Ashok Leyland declined by nearly 4 per cent.