M&M total auto sales fall 21%, tractors up 12% in July

Moneycontrol Bureau

Mahindra & Mahindra said on Thursday that its total automotive sales in July declined 21 percent year-on-year to 37,096 units, amid sluggish demand for both utility vehicles and commercial vehicles. Automobile sales in India have been slow for more than a year now. However, utility vehicles saw strong growth for much of FY13, helped by increased price differentiation between petrol and diesel and new launches like M&M's XUV500 and Quanto, Renault's Duster and Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga. However, even SUVs have now hit speed bumps since last few months following a hike in excise duty by the government, and partial de-regulation of diesel prices. M&M's domestic sales in July fell 19 percent to 34,490 units, while exports were down 39 percent to 2,606 units. Sales of its passenger vehicles, which includes its UVs and the Verito car, plunged 29 percent year-on-year to 15,530 units. Its four-wheeler commercial vehicle sales fell 6 percent to 13,740 units and three-wheeler sales were down 13 percent to 4,490 units. Even medium and heavy truck sales declined 23 percent to 730 units, M&M said. Meanwhile, the company's total tractor sales increased 12 percent to 18,469 units. Its domestic sales rose 15 percent from a year ago to 17,771 units.  But exports slumped 32 percent to 698 units. M&M shares were down 3.4 percent to Rs 880.70 on NSE in afternoon trade.   Also Read: Maruti Suzuki July sales rise 1% to 83,299 units