Amid the raging second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, major automobile manufacturers reported a significant decline in sales figures for the month of May. Automobile major Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday reported total sales of 46,555 units in May 2021. This represents a contraction of 71% compared to 1,59,691 units sold in April. According to the company, total sales in the month include domestic sales of 33,771 units, sales to other OEMs 1,522 units and exports of 11,262 units. Passenger vehicle sales dropped 76% to 32,903 units in May from 1,35,879 units in April. Mini and compact vehicle segment sales declined 79% to 25,103 units in May compared to April while utility vehicle sales fell 75% to 6,355 units in May.
"In May 2021, the company shut production from 1 to 16 so as to divert oxygen from industrial use for medical purposes," the company said in a statement. "In May 2020, the company witnessed production disruption owing to lockdowns. Since neither of the two months had normal production, the sales volume of May 2021 is not comparable with May 2020,” the statement added.
Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday reported cumulative sales of 30,703 units in May 2021, which is a decline of 48% from 59,203 units sold in April. Domestic sales declined to 25,001 units in May from 49,002 units sold in April. This represents a decline of 48.9%.
Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra's May overall auto sales stood at 17,447 units, the company reported on Tuesday. This represents a 52% decline over the previous month. The company’s passenger vehicle sales fell 56% to 8,000 units in May compared to April. Year-on-year sales were not comparable because of zero sales last year due to lockdown.
The total sales, including passenger and commercial vehicles along with exports, stood at 9,560 units in May 2020. In the utility vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 7,748 vehicles in May 2021, and in the passenger vehicles segment, it sold 8,004 vehicles.
M&M's Automotive Division CEO Veejay Nakra said: "We are seeing a strong growth momentum for our entire product portfolio. The Thar is clocking robust bookings, despite extended waiting periods. XUV300 has been a tremendous success and continues to see strong demand. Our power brands (Scorpio and Bolero) continue to do well."
"With the cases coming down and gradual opening up of markets, we foresee strong demand rebound. We are working closely with our supplier partners to manage supply chain issues and meet the market demand,” he added.
Tata Motors Ltd.’s passenger vehicle division sold 15,181 units in May which is a 40% decline over April. Year-on-year sales were not comparable because of COVID induced lockdown last year. The company’s overall domestic sales fell 38% to 24,552 units in May from 39,530 units in April.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Tuesday announced that the company sold a total of 707 units in the month of May compared to 9,622 units in April to register a decline of 92%, amidst the prevailing restrictions and sporadic lockdowns in several parts of the country. Even before the statewide lockdown was declared in Karnataka, TKM had already announced its annual maintenance shutdown at its plant in Bidadi, from April 26 until May 14, so as to enhance its operational efficiencies.
“Last month witnessed no production at our plants in Bidadi as well as minimal sales owing to the much needed restrictions & sporadic lockdowns in different parts of the country. Hence comparing last month’s performance to that of May 2020 would be highly skewed, as May 2020 had witnessed a gradual restart of both operations and sales. More so for TKM, as even before the restrictions were announced in Karnataka, we were well within our planned annual maintenance shutdown, thereby adding onto the number of non-production days,” said Naveen Soni, Sr. Vice President, TKM.
Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto sold a total of 2,71,862 units in May which represents a 30% decline from the previous month. Year-on-year sales are not comparable because of zero sales due to the nationwide lockdown last year. Total domestic sales fell 51% over April to 60,830 units in May.
TVS Motor Company registered a 30.16% decline in total sales to 1,66,869 units in May compared to the previous month due to lockdowns in many states. The company had sold 2,38,983 units in April. Year-on-year sales are not comparable because of the lockdown last year.
"We have reduced dealer stocks to support our dealers and channel partners and will produce to maintain adequate inventories for customer demand. We expect that pent up demand will return as markets begin to reopen," the company said in a statement.