October auto sales: Passenger vehicles see strong growth, 2W purchases decline — see how auto firms fared

Automakers in India have released October sales numbers. According to industry data released on November 1, passenger vehicle sales increased significantly in October as mid-segment cars and SUVs benefited from festive demand, which also boosted the entry-level category.

However, sales of two-wheelers remained muted, highlighting the state of the economy. Mahindra & Mahindra, Kia India, Honda Cars India, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Tata Motors reported good passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market due to robust demand throughout the festive season.

While the majority of the two-wheeler manufacturers, including Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Honda Motorcycle and TVS Motor, reported muted sales during the festive season, the data was also added.

Below are the updates from some of the major carmakers in India:

TVS Motor Co.'s total two-wheeler sales just saw a marginal rise of  0.9 percent at 3,44,630 units. The company's October performance was dented by lower exports and muted motorcycle sales.

Domestic two-wheeler sales rose 7 percent while exports fell 17 percent from the corresponding period a year ago.

"In some international markets, there has been a slowdown due to macro economical factors. These are predominantly two-wheeler markets and hence, we have moderated dispatches in these countries," TVS Motors said in a regulatory filing.

Eicher Motors total sale of motorcycle Royal Enfield in October grew 86 per cent ad stood at 82,235 units. The growth was aided by the launch of the new model Hunter 350, said the company.

Hero MotoCorp total sales for the month of October fell 17 percent from the corresponding period a year ago. The company sold 4.55 lakh units in the month while in October 2021 the number was at 5.48 lakh units.

The major drawback came from the fall in exports. Hero MotoCorp sold 11,757 units in October 2022, down 41.8 percent from 20,191 in October 2021.

Mahindra & Mahindra announced that its overall auto sales for the month of October 2022 stood at 61,114 vehicles, up by 54.8 percent from selling 47,017 units in the corresponding period a year ago.

In the Utility Vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 32,226 vehicles. The number in the Passenger Vehicles segment stood at sold 32,298 units. While in the Commercial Vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 20,980 units.

Tata Motors' total sales for October 2022 came at 78,335 units, up by 15 percent from 67,829 in the corresponding period a year ago.

The growth was primarily led by  passenger vehicle sales that went up 33 percent and stood at 45,423 units,

Maruti Suzuki sales for October 2022 climbed 21 percent to 1.67 lakh units as compared to selling 1.38 lakh units in the corresponding period a year ago.  Domestic sales increased 25 percent to 1.47 Lakh units while the exports went down by 4 percent.

The growth came on a low base as a severe shortage of semiconductors had reduced production in the corresponding period a year ago.

In the month of October Ashok Leyland sold 14,863 units up by 34 percent from selling 11,079 units in the corresponding period a year ago,

Bajaj Auto's total sales for October 2022 declined 10 percent from the corresponding period a year ago.

In the two-wheeler segment, the company saw a decline of 13 percent at 3.41 lakh units as compared to selling 3.91 lakh units in the corresponding period a year ago.  While three-wheeler sales went up by 10.4 percent.

Th automaker saw a major hit in the exports markets where sales went down by 31 percent.

Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director, Bajaj Auto told CNBC-TV18 that the market is expected to soon return to normalcy.

"At a retail level, every month is better than the previous month and that is very heartening because it indicates that the markets are digesting at least the price increase which is taking place because of inflation. It is happening at a slower level and once the currency availability etc. improves, I think we should be heading back to normalcy"

Escorts Kubota total tractor sales for the month of October grew 7,2 percent to 14,492 units as compared to selling 13,514 units in the corresponding period a year ago.

Domestic tractor sales in October 2022 stood at 13,843 tractors, registering a growth of 8.6 percent and festive demand was good for the company led by above-normal monsoon and higher water reservoirs level.

Meanwhile, sales through export dropped 15.2 percent to 649 units sold in October 2022 as compared with 765 units sold in October 2021.

Going forward we expect with Growing public & private infrastructure spends and the growing economy will lead to the overall surge in demand for construction equipment in India, the company stated in a regulatory filling,

Eicher Motors Ltd.'s commercial vehicle subsidiary VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. reported a 4 percent growth in sales for October 2022. Total Eicher trucks and buses sales rose 3.9 percent  to 5,911 units. While total domestic sales grew 14.2 percent to 5,555 units.

The exports plunged 56.9 percent to 356 units.