Auto stocks drop after September sales

Shares of automobile manufacturers such as Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp among others fell on Tuesday after the companies reported sales numbers for the month of September. The weakness in auto stocks was in sync with the broader market.

Eicher Motors shares dropped as much as 4% in intraday trade today after the Royal Enfield motorcycle maker posted a 4% year-on-year decline in sales in September 2023. The company's exports during the month slipped 49% to 4,319 units last month as against 8,451 units in the year-ago period. Sales of VE Commercial Vehicles, however, rose 8.6% year-on-year to 7,198 units in September.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd fell nearly 3% in intraday trade to ₹10,307 apiece on the BSE. India's largest carmaker sold a total of 181,343 units in September 2023, up 2.8% year-on-year as against 176,306 units in the same month last year. Total sales in the month include domestic sales of 153,106 units, sales to other OEM of 5,726 units and exports of 22,511 units. The company's total domestic passenger vehicle sales rose to 150,812 units last month from 148,380 units in the year-ago period.

Tata Motors shares, too, declined 1.7% to ₹618.65 on the BSE after the company reported a 3% year-on-year drop in passenger vehicle sales to 1,38,939 units. Meanwhile, the automaker's commercial vehicle sales rose 4% to 1,04,085 units.

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra fell 1% to ₹1,535 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). This comes even as the automaker reported a 20% jump in sales of its Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). In the Utility Vehicles segment, Mahindra recorded the highest sales for the third consecutive month. In September, the company sold 41,267 vehicles in the domestic market, and overall, 42,260 vehicles, including exports. The domestic sales for Commercial Vehicles stood at 23,997 units. Its overall auto sales for the month of September 2023 stood at 75,604 vehicles, a growth of 17%, including exports.

"We are excited to achieve our highest-ever sale of SUVs for the third consecutive month. This month we saw a growth of 20% with 41,267 vehicles. We also registered an overall growth of 17%. In September, we also crossed the 1 lakh unit mark for our Bolero Maxx Pik Up trucks, making it the fastest-selling pick-up in the country to reach that mark. While demand for our key SUV brands continue to be strong, we are keeping a close watch on the availability of semiconductors and select components to meet the strong festive season demand," says Veejay Nakra, president of Automotive Division, M&M.

Shares of Hero MotoCorp fell 2% even as the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters sold 536,499 units in the month of September, up 3% year-on-year compared with 519,980 units in the corresponding month last year. "As the country enters the peak festive season in the coming weeks, Hero MotoCorp expects the demand to be on a healthy trajectory, led by macro-economic factors," the two-wheeler maker said.

Shares of Bajaj Auto were trading in the negative terrain after the company reported a 6% decline in two-wheeler sales to 3,27,712 units in September compared with 3,48,355 units in the same month last year.