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Barring Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda Cars India, most passenger vehicle manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, and Tata Motors, reported a decline in their factorygate sales numbers (dispatches to dealers) in April on a sequential basis (versus March) because of restrictions and local lockdowns in most States. The second wave of Covid infections has put the brakes on the auto sector’s recovery.
Year-on-year numbers are not comparable as thre was no sales in April 2020 due to the lockdown across the country.
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Tractor sales hit rough patch in April
While tractor manufacturers faced production constraints, footfalls at dealerships dropped as cases surged in small towns and rural areas.Passenger vehicles market leader Maruti Suzuki reported sales declining 7 per cent to 1,35,879 units in April compared with 1,46,203 units in March. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India said its wholesales had dipped 7 per cent to 49,002 units in April (52,600 units).
Tata Motors’ April sales slowed 15 per cent at 25,095 units (29,654 units). Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a 36 per cent sales drop to 9,622 units (15,001 units).
New-comers Kia India and MG Motor India, which report only retail sales numbers, also recorded a decline of 16 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively. While Kia sold 16,111 units (19,100 units), MG Motor managed 2,565 units (5,528 units).
Bucking the trend, the ‘City’-maker Honda Cars India reported a growth of 28 per cent month-on-month to 9,072 units compared with 7,103 units in March.
“Many parts of the country have been on safety related lockdowns in the last couple of weeks and we see this continuing in the month of May,” Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice-President and Director, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India, said.
M&M also reported a jump in April, selling 9.5 per cent more at 18,285 units compared to 16,700 in March.
Two-wheelers & CVs
In the two-wheeler segment, only Hero MotoCorp and Royal Enfield shared the numbers on Saturday. While the market leader reported a decline of 37 per cent in its wholesale to 3,42,614 units (against 5,44,340 units in March), the ‘Bullet’ maker said it recorded a dip of 19 per cent to 48,789 units in April against 60,173 units in March.
In the commercial vehicles segment, most companies including Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher and Tata Motors, reported negative sales with a rising double-digit percentage.
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