Bengaluru- India’s wholesale commercial and passenger vehicle sales growth moderated in April, following a boost from the festive season and pre-buying last month ahead of the implementation of tighter fuel emission norms.
The norms, implemented on April 1, require automakers to fit vehicles with a device to check emissions, leading to extra costs.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hero MotoCorp Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd have hiked prices to cushion the impact of the additional expenses.
Analysts said commercial vehicles (CV) sales fell slightly sharper than the usual 40% to 50% drop between March and April due to pre-buying in March.
However, CV volumes for fiscal year 2024 could possibly recover to pre-COVID levels on strong demand expected due to a line-up of government infrastructure projects, analysts said.
In the CV segment, market leader Tata Motors posted a 52% decline in sales from a month ago, while sales of Eicher Motors Ltd and Ashok Leyland Ltd trucks and buses declined 45% and 53.4%, respectively.
On an year-on-year basis, however, Tata Motors reported a 28% decline in sales, while Eicher and Ashok Leyland registered a growth of 18.1% and 5%.
Two-wheeler makers TVS Motor Co Ltd and Eicher’s Royal Enfield, which are more urban-focused, reported a 4% and 18% YoY growth in April sales, helped by affluent buyers.
However, Hero, which caters more to the rural segment, saw a 3.1% decline in domestic sales owing to slowdown in demand recovery due to unseasonal rains.
In the passenger vehicles category, top carmaker Maruti Suzuki saw a 12.6% increase in domestic sales, while Tata Motors reported a 13% rise, including electric vehicles.
Demand continued to grow for costlier utility vehicles (UV), with Maruti’s UV sales rising 8.3% and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd reporting a 57% jump.
