Auto sales figures could put stocks on slow lane

Auto majors such as Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Ashok Leyland will announce their June sales figures this week. Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and TVS Motor have already released theirs. Tata Motors reported a three per cent decline at 64,341 units against June 2011. Nevertheless, the number is flat compared with May figures of 64,347. M&M reported a 16 per cent rise at 41,322 units against 35,584 units in the same month last year. On a sequential basis, the figure is lower. In May, M&M sold 43,988 units. For TVS Motor, which is struggling to retain market share, the sales figures skidded sequentially as well as on a year-on-year basis. It sold 1,65,483 units in June against 1,76,012 units in May and 1,82,456 units sold June 2011. With an inventory pile-up forcing companies such as Tata Motors, and Bosh Ltd to shutdown productions temporarily, auto stocks will remain under pressure.