Heavy Duty Segment Booms in March, Robust Growth for Industry Leaders

The commercial vehicles industry has been growing substantially over the past few months. Following the sharp economic turnaround witnessed in 2014, the business has been thriving with an unprecedented broadening in the market that has continued over the past year or two.

With the onset of 2016, minor disturbances deterred world markets, with falling oil prices arousing fears of a market recession. This led analysts to estimate that the medium and heavy duty area would hit some bumps this year. However, sales records across the field for the month of March have proven the estimates wrong. Companies in the segment have recorded higher sales number this month than for the same month in 2015.

Across the industry, major players such as Tata, Ashok Leyland and Eicher Motors have all seen massive increases of around 20 to 40 percent in sales output.

Tata Motors

Going into specifics, Tata Motors' domestic sales rose by 20 percent on year-on-year grounds, with nearly 38,247 units sold this month. Narrowing into the M&HCV area, sales grew by 24 percent, standing at 18,538 units this month.

Mahindra & Mahindra

Mahindra & Mahindra saw an expansion of nearly 24 percent. The company rolled out 17,438 units in March 2016, as against 14,114 units sold in the same period of 2015.

Ashok Leyland

Chennai based segment leader Ashok Leyland recorded a robust 31 percent increase in sales. The firm sent out 16,702 units this month, against 12,754 units in the same period the last year. Specifically, the M&HCV segment rose by 32 percent for this player.

VECV

Meanwhile, Eicher Motors had seen the most massive growth. Through its joint venture with Volvo, VECV, the brand had sold 6,064 vehicles last month, placed against 4,186 units in the same period last year. This yielded a sound 44 percent growth for the firm, the highest in the entire segment.

Most of the heavy-duty firms also witnessed spikes in their share value, as the month's sales report went public. Ashok Leyland surged to its highest ever value last week, impressing analysts across the segment.

Full Year Sales

Apart from monthly sales, the companies saw remarkable full year sales figures as well. Tata Motors sold a whopping 3,27,142 units in this financial year, giving a rise of three percent from the previous year's figures. Mahindra & Mahindra rolled out 1,66,783 units, recording a growth of eight percent over the figure of the previous year. Ashok Leyland saw the highest rise in its full year sales volumes. The firm sold 1,40,457 units this year, against 1,04,902 vehicles in the last year, and this yielded a sound 34 percent growth for the company. These encouraging numbers look promising for the coming months and are sure to increase Tata’s CV sales this fiscal year.

See Also:

Report from ICRA Foresees Around 10% Growth for Auto-Components Industry this Year

India Rises as a Preferred Global Manufacturing Destination for Commercial Vehicles