Auto Stocks rally after robust MoM sales in March 2022

The automotive sector saw a domestic tally of over 3.20 lakh units in March 2022. However, a near-flat growth was registered on a YoY basis. The MoM growth stood at 6% as just over 3.02 lakh units were sold in the previous month of February 2022 in India.

Passenger Vehicle

Maruti Suzuki - India's largest carmaker, reported a decline in its domestic passenger vehicle (PV) by 8.4% to 133,861 units in March. In March 2021, the company had sold 146,203 units. The exports grew 128% to 26,496 units in March 2022 compared to 11,597 units in March 2021.

The shortage of electronic components had some impact on the financial year and the company said that it took to minimise the impact. The company expects the electronic chip shortage will have some impact on volume this financial year as well.

Maruti’s cars in the mini category like Alto and S-Presso clocked sales of 15,491 units this year, compared to 24,653 units in March last year. Cars in the compact category including Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, and WagonR witnessed marginal growth with sales of 82,314 units in March 2021.

Hyundai - The market share of Hyundai in the passenger car market has fallen to 13.9% in March 2022, down from 16.4% during the same month last year. Hyundai had sold 44,050 vehicles in India, which translates to a MoM sales growth of just 1.25% last month. Hyundai is planning to launch a few new cars in the Indian market, including both traditional (IC engine-powered) cars as well as electric vehicles.

Mahindra - The total Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes UVs, Cars, and Vans) sales in March 2022, stood at 27,603 units, up 67% over 16,700 units reported in March 2021. In a bid to further improve sales, Mahindra plans to launch 5 new SUVs during the 2022-23 period. These include the new Scorpio, likely to be unveiled in June 2022. Mahindra will also launch the electric version of the KUV100.

Tata Motors - The third-largest car manufacturer has managed to sell 42,293 passenger vehicles in India in March 2022. With 38,936 units sold in March this year, the company’s ICE PV sales registered a YoY growth of 34% as in the same month last year, the company’s sales stood at 28,949 units. The company’s electric vehicle PV business shattered all previous records. Tata Motors sold 3,357 EVs in March 2022, registering a staggering 376% YoY growth as in the same period last year.

2 Wheeler Sales:

The two-wheeler segment saw a dip over March last year; sales were in red across the segment.

Hero Motocorp - Motorcycle sales in the past month stood at 4,25,721 units, down 18.85% or 98,887 units when compared to sales of 5,24,608 units sold in March 2021. Motorcycles commanded a 94.57% share in March 2022 up from 88.96% held in February 2022. Scooter sales dipped 53.33% YoY to 24,433 units in March 2022, down from 52,349 units sold in March 2021.

TVS - For TVS, motorcycle sales increased to 160,522 units in March 2022 from 157,254 units in March 2021. Scooter sales registered were 94,747 units in March 2022 as against sales of 104,513 units in March 2021. The company said that the shortage in supply of semiconductors has impacted the production and sales of premium two-wheelers.

Bajaj Auto - In the two-wheeler space, Bajaj Auto's domestic sales stood at 107,081 units last month, a decline of 41% when compared to 181,393 units. Exports remained flat at 149,243 units in March 2022, against 148,740 units in March 2021.

CV segment

The industry CV Sales in March 2022 improved on YoY basis. The growth in the segment was primarily due to opening of economy, revival in freight movement and pick up in construction activities. We expect volume recovery to sustain in upcoming months.

Tata Motors: Total CV volumes including exports grew 16% YoY to 47.05k units. This was led by a 26.5% YoY growth in HCV volumes to 21.9k units. LCV volumes grew 8% YoY to 25.15k units.

Ashok Leyland: The Domestic sales increased by 18% YoY and 40% MoM to 18.5K units. M&HCV Goods segment increased by 38% YoY and 55% MoM to 12.1K units. The Total sales increased by 17% YoY and 37% MoM to 20.1K units. Ashok Leyland has been focusing on LCV and Export market to garner incremental growth. With pickup in the construction activities and strong Govt. Infra push, the demand for tippers and trucks are expected to go up.

Tractors

The industry Tractor Sales declined in March 2022 on YoY basis led by cyclical nature of business. Due to the high base of last year and subdued commercial demand, the tractor industry wholesales continue to remain subdued in March 2022.  The overall volume growth was flat for the segment in FY22.

Escorts - Escorts Domestic sales decreased by 19% YoY and up 67% MoM to 9,486 units. The Company expects a strong farmer sentiment aided by favorable macroeconomic factors, reasonably good water level of reservoirs, good pace of Kharif sowing and continued support by the Government in Agri sector to drive Tractor demand in coming quarters.

March Auto Sales Review:

• Overall Auto Sales have been good for the PV segment, aided by eating supply chain issues. 
• Mahindra, Tata Motors, have reported a YoY increase in their sales, while Maruti Suzuki, Honda and Hyundai have posted a decline.  
• Two-wheeler segment continues to remain under pressure in the month with Hero, TVS, Bajaj and Suzuki Motorcycles reporting an on-year decline. The recent fuel price hikes have also dampened consumer sentiments. 
• Car production has also taken a hit during the month due to the ongoing semiconductor supply crunch. In case of a prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, the disruptions could continue.  
• The progress in the CV segment seems to be encouraging. Except TVS, all the players have reported a YoY rise in sales. 
• Going forward, the demand is expected to remain strong due to good kharif crop acreage and a substantial rise in exports of agri products. Better cash flows for the rural segment should lead to good tractor sales. Two-wheeler segment should also see a rebound.