Indian automakers reported robust sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in May on steady demand and saw an uptick in two-wheeler sales on the back of the wedding season and replacement of old bikes and scooters.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd.’s dispatches to dealerships rose 7% to 5.19 lakh units in May, beating analysts’ consensus estimates, which forecasted a decline of over 6% during the month. India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, has revealed its sales figures for the month of May 2022. The company sold 4,86,704 two-wheelers in India last month, recording a massive 165 percent YoY growth. However, it is worth mentioning that 4,86,704 units are the total sales of the company for last month. Out of this, Hero MotoCorp sold 4,66,466 units in the domestic market while 20,238 units were exported to other countries. Also, when we compare the sales tally on an MoM basis, the company posted a growth of 16 percent in May 2022 over April, when it sold 4,18,622 units.
Eicher Motors Ltd.’s total motorcycle sales rose 22% to 77,461 units in May.
Mahindra and Mahindra, the country’s top SUV maker by market share, reported a 23.5% jump in SUV sales, while sales of the larger and pricier vehicles at Maruti Suzuki, the top carmaker by volumes, grew around 65%.
Sales of SUVs propelled India’s passenger vehicle (PV) sales to a record high in fiscal 2023 and are expected to grow in double digits this financial year, despite a slower growth for the overall industry.
However, SUV sales have been limited to a certain extent due to supply issues for parts, particularly chips.
‘SUV sales volume were restricted by a short-term disruption in engine-related parts at the supplier end,’ Veejay Nakra, president of the automotive division at Mahindra, said, adding that the company continued to face a shortage of chips for airbags.
The company in a post-earnings press conference last week said that chip shortages were still limiting its efforts to ramp up SUV production.
Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto’s sales of bikes in India more than doubled during the month, helped in part by the easing of supply constraints that hurt production in May last year. Replacement purchases also helped, analysts said.
Tata Motors, India’s top truck and bus maker by market share, reported a 12% fall in commercial vehicle volumes, while Ashok Leyland’s volumes dropped 1%. In contrast, Eicher’s total sales grew by about 12%.
(With inputs from agencies
