Apr’17: Tata Motors’ CV Sales declines by 36%
Published On May 05, 2017
Tata Motors has reported a steep decline in its commercial vehicles sale. The company in its BSE filing reported a 36 percent decline in M&HCV which was pretty unusual according to the officials. The firm registered 16,017 units in April 2017 as compared to 21,783 units last year same month, a huge drop of 36 percent.
The key reason cited behind the sales plunge is the recent Supreme Court ban on the sales and registration of BS-III vehicles starting April 1, 2017. It resulted in huge demand for the BS-IV stock which company was unable to fulfill in the short term notice as vendors struggled to cope up with the demand especially in the medium and high commercial vehicles.
Secondly, the ban raised the pre-buying sentiments among the consumers resulting in huge demand of BS-III vehicles in March, which eventually affected the sales in April. Moreover, the price hike in the M&HCV and Buses categories stemmed weak response for BS-IV vehicles in April.
Simultaneously, exports were also down by 43.8 percent to 2,128 units in April 2017 as compared to 3,060 units in the corresponding month last year. Recently, Fitch, the rating agency upgraded Tata Motor’s issuer default rating (IDR) BB to BB+ with stable outlook.
Tata Motors expects to regain sales in May and June. Company is also exploring new markets and developing fresh products to maintain its lead in the CV segment.
