The Indian stock market continues trading on a positive note led by gains in auto stocks. Sensex is up 287.46 points or 0.56 percent at 51312.94, and the Nifty added 83.30 points or 0.55 percent at 15181.70.
Nifty Auto added over a percent intraday on March 10 after February retail passenger vehicles sales grew 11 percent, according to data sent by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA).
Retail volumes of passenger vehicles (PV) swung back into the black in February reporting a growth of nearly 11 percent after January proved to be a disappointment.
Also Read: February retail passenger vehicles sales grow 11%, two-wheelers drop by 16%
According to data sent by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) PV retails ended February at 254,058 units while the same month last year saw sales of 229,734 units. There was a 4.4 percent decline in January.
According to individual sales data shared by each company, there was 24 percent growth in February in wholesales of ten PV making companies controlling 97 percent of the domestic volumes. The gap in wholesales and retail for February could be because of the reason that four states – Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Lakshadweep – are yet not on the VAHAN portal of the government.
However, 2-wheeler retails remained in the red for the second consecutive month. The industry saw a 16 percent decline in the volumes of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds during February at 1.09 million units as against 1.3 million units clocked in the same month last year.
Wholesales during the same month, as per data shared by each company, was up 11 percent.
Also Read: February car sales | Check out who gained and who lost market share
Vinkesh Gulati, President of FADA said: “Passenger vehicles witnessed double-digit growth on a low base of last year as India started transitioning from BS-4 to BS-6 emission norms. This coupled with the global semiconductor outrage kept a waiting period of PV as high as 8 months. FADA survey showed that 50 percent PV dealers lost more than 20 percent sales due to non-availability of vehicles”.
“Two-wheelers continued to see sluggish demand as the new wave of Covid in certain states kept customers away. Enquiry levels also narrowed as many educational institutions were still reluctant to open. Fuel prices are at a historic high and have put a dampener in sentiments. This, in turn, has pressed the brake on sale of the entry-level price-sensitive category”, Gulati added.
The top gainers included Eicher Motors and TVS Motor Company which added 2-3 percent each followed by Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj Auto.
Global research firm Jefferies in a report on 2-wheelers space said that urban-centric states have started to witness relatively better demand trends adding that scooter wholesale volume growth is picking up.
"Premium motorcycles have performed better than entry-level bikes in recent months. We maintain our preference for urban exposure in 2-wheelers and prefer TVS Motor and Eicher Motors," it said.
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