Truck Sales Improve as Auto Industry Recovers
Published On Aug 11, 2016
After a major downturn since the past few years, overall auto sales are finally seeing the light of the day. As per a Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) report, commercial vehicle sales in India have shown an upward swing by 9.2 percent in the last fiscal year as compared to 2013-14.
Total number of trucks in production were 612,724 in 2013-14. The numbers, however, declined to 602,348 in 2014-15. As the demand for trucks gradually pumped up, production numbers rose to 677,793 in 2015-16. Over the last year, as production increased by a decent 12.5 percent, sales too picked up by 11.16 percent.
Pertaining to the role of the government in revising the automobile sector, Babul Supriyo, Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises said in a statement, “Government whenever needed, interact with the Indian Automobile Industry for the promotion of Auto Sector. Department of Heavy Industry is working on the Automotive Mission Plan 2016-26 to help the industry grow and foster in the next ten years of the plan period.”
Profits for the first quarter of this fiscal year have also been very promising for all major truck makers. While Ashok Leyland reported a huge 101 percent in profits at the end of Q1 of FY2016-17, Eicher Motors’ profits grew by 66 percent. BharatBenz and SML Isuzu also registered encouraging numbers by growing 30 percent and 42 percent in profits, respectively. Mahindra and Mahindra reported a 12.5 percent profit hike backed by strong truck and SUV sales.
