Nifty Auto ends in red on mixed auto sales numbers

Auto majors reported a mixed set of sales numbers for the month ended December 2018. With this, Nifty Auto touched a low of 9139.45, down by 53.10 points. On the other hand, the benchmark indices NSE Nifty50 closed in green, up by 47.55 points and BSE Sensex closed in green, up by 186.24 points.

Maruti Suzuki, a leader in the passenger car space, posted moderate sales numbers. It sold total 1,28,338 units in December 2018 which includes 1,21,479 units in the domestic market and 6,859 units of exports. It has registered 7.2 per cent yoy jump in sales of Domestic Passenger Vehicles. However, exports sales declined by 13.4 per cent yoy.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which has a presence across the auto segments from 2-wheeler to tractor, posted muted sales numbers. It sold 39,755 vehicles during December 2018, 1.4 per cent yoy growth. It has registered 3 per cent yoy decline in Passenger Vehicles and 4 per cent yoy decline in Commercial Vehicles. Its domestic sales decreased marginally by 1 per cent whereas exports jumped by 38 per cent. Under Farm equipment division, domestic sales and exports declined by 2 and 45 per cent, respectively.

Escorts, a leading tractors and heavy equipment company, outshined its peers with 27.5 per cent yoy jump in total sales. It sold 4,212 tractors and posted 21.2 per cent yoy jump in domestic sales and exports spiked by 196.9 per cent yoy.

Eicher Motors, which produces the iconic bike Royal Enfield and also caters to commercial vehicles space, posted mixed numbers with a decline in motorcycle sales of upto 350cc by 15 per cent yoy. However, sales of motorcycles above 350cc grew by 21 per cent yoy. Besides, motorcycle exports grew by 41 per cent yoy. Under the bus division, domestic sales grew by 8 per cent, but exports declined by 69 per cent.