Auto sales number dips in March

The auto players had a rough drive in the month of March 2020.

Maruti Suzuki India reported total sales of 83,792 units in March 2020, in comparison to over 158,076 units sold in March 2019. This includes 76,976 units in the domestic market, 2,104 units of domestic OEM sales and 4,712 units of exports. The company sold 15,988 vehicles under mini segment (including Alto, S-Presso) in March 2020, as against 16,826 units sold in corresponding month previous year. The company sold 40,519 vehicles under compact segment; 1,863 vehicles under mid-size category. It sold 736 vehicles under light CV segment (including super carry) in March 2020. The sales during March 2020 are not comparable with sales in March 2019 due to the suspension of operations with effect from March 22, 2020 in-line with national policy.

Ashok Leyland, which offers a range of trucks and heavy vehicles, posted poor numbers for the month of March 2020. The total number of vehicles sold in March 2020 was 2179, showing 90 per cent YoY decline. Domestic sales declined by 91 per cent with sales of 1,787 vehicles in March 2020. Total sales of M&HCV declined by 89 per cent YoY while, the sale of LCV declined by 94 per cent YoY.

Escorts, the leader in the agri-machinery segment, posted 54.3 per cent YoY decline in the total sales for March 2020. Domestic tractor sales registered degrowth of 54.3 per cent in March 2020 with only 5,228 tractors being sold against 11,431 tractors in March 2019. Export registered degrowth of 54.4 per cent with 216 tractors being sold against 474 tractors sold in March last year.