Auto stocks slip 1-3% as sales remain sluggish in May
India's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki's sales dipped 14 percent in May, Tata Motors' sales were down 23 percent, Ashok Leyland's sales fell 16 percent and M&M reported a little over 1 percent decline.
June 03, 2013 / 12:18 IST
Moneycontrol Bureau
Shares of most automobile companies declined 1-3 percent on Monday morning as bumpy sales in May failed to bring any cheer to the street.Auto sales, especially passenger cars and medium & heavy commercial vehicles, have been hit over the last one year due to expensive loans, rising fuel prices and the overall slowdown in the economy, which has idled capacity and forced fleet operators to postpone new truck purchases.Sales have remained slow in the second month of the new financial year, suggesting any acceleration is still some time away.India's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki saw its sales dip 14 percent year-on-year to 84,677 units. While mini car sales, which comprise M800, Alto, WagonR and A-Star, gained 5 percent, cars in most other segment was fewer takers compared to the last year. Compact car sales, which include Estilo, Swift and Ritz, were down 30 percent and even the Dzire, which has been a huge success over the last one year, saw sales dip over 2 percent. Utility vehicle sales also slumped 44 percent, suggesting demand for the fast selling Ertiga multi-utility vehicle had cooled.Elsewhere, Tata Motors reported a 23 percent slump in its sales in May at 49,304 units. Its domestic sales were down 24 percent to 45,430 units.Tata Motors' CV rival Ashok Leyland says its sales fell 16 percent to 7,267 units. While sales of its small truck Dost gained 1 percent, M&HCV sales tumbled 22 percent.Among other vehicle makers, utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra's automotive sales last month slipped a little over 1 percent to 43,460 units. While domestic sales were up 5 percent, exports plunged 67 percent. Sales of its three-wheeler CVs and medium and heavy trucks sold under Mahindra Navistar brand remained sluggish, mirroring the overall slower growth in the industry.At 9:40 hrs, Maruti Suzuki was down 3 percent at Rs 1,557.10 on NSE. Tata Motors slipped 1.3 percent at Rs 309.20 and Ashok Leyland was down 2 percent at Rs 23.30. M&M was up about 0.1 percent at Rs 968.30. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
