Indian automakers post rise in August sales ahead of festive season

Indian auto cos post Aug sales rise; Maruti, M&M up 16.4%, 25% respectively. TVS, Bajaj Auto up 5%, -31%. Eicher Motors' total motorcycles sales up 11%. CV sales for Eicher, Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors up 30.4%, 9%, 4.9%. Escorts Kubota tractor sales down 2.1%. Nifty auto index up 1.65%.

Top Indian automakers on Friday posted an increase in passenger and commercial vehicle sales for August, as optimistic dealers loaded up vehicles ahead of the festive season.

In the passenger-vehicle (PV) category, sales for Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra grew 16.4% and 25%, respectively, for the month compared with the year-earlier period. Tata Motors, however, posted a 3.5% decline in PV sales.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki scaled to a record high during the day. The automaker reported total sales of 189,082 units in August, its highest ever monthly sales volume, led by continued strong demand and introduction of new models in the fast-growing sport-utility vehicles (SUV) segment.

Two-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company reported a 5% increase in sales, while Bajaj Auto registered a decline of 31%. Eicher Motors' total motorcycles sales grew 11%. Two-wheeler sales provide a glimpse of the financial health of India's rural economy and demand in the country's largest consumption segment, which mostly comprises of lower middle-income households.

"Medium and heavy commercial vehicle segments are holding very strong, while passenger vehicles have started showing good traction after a pause," said Amit Hiranandani, automobile sector lead analyst at brokerage SMIFS.

In general, August and September are inventory-filling months, with wholesale numbers looking reasonably good as most dealers are optimistic across segments due to upcoming festivals, he added.

In the commercial vehicles (CV) segment, sales volumes for Eicher Motors' trucks and buses climbed 30.4% year-on-year in August. CV sales for Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors rose 9% and 4.9%, respectively. However, Escorts Kubota said tractor sales - indicative of demand in the rural economy and the state of farm incomes - declined 2.1% in August, partly due to deficient monsoons.