The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' (SIAM) latest data for March reveals some concerning trends on the exports front, with a sharp fall seen in motorcycle and three-wheeler segments, leading to a 26 percent decline in total export sales. Both these segments have registered a significant decline from last March, with motorcycles falling 39 percent and three-wheelers 50 percent.
SIAM however believes, the fall in exports to a few countries has been mainly due to unfavourable forex situation.
CNBC-TV18 exclusively spoke to Vinod Aggarwal SIAM President on the FY'23 industry performance, and he said, "2022-23 has been good for the auto industry. Some segments have done well, some have not. Passenger cars hit a new peak, CV (commercial vehicles) is near to its earlier peak."
However sales in two wheelers is a concern as sales are 25% down from its earlier peak. Similarly three wheeler sales are also down from earlier peak.
In the new financial year, SIAM feels there will be growth in segments where the growth was lagging earlier. While certain segments are expected to register degrowth, certain segments will see double digit growth. SIAM is also confident that the rural economy will recover as it is anticipated that the monsoon will be normal.
On being asked about the benefit of new gas pricing & export decline, Vinod Aggarwal said, "CNG market will benefit with new pricing, this will restore advantages. This will be very positive for the industry. Export situation will improve, Trade Policy is very positive. Hoping that Rupee Trade moves faster, this will boost the exports."
“A dip witnessed in exports is a concern but we expect an improvement in coming months. The government's push to use rupee for trade will also aid recovery," SIAM President, Vinod Aggarwal told CNBC-TV18.
This decline has come despite some of the two-wheeler companies claiming to have seen a recovery in March. Bajaj Auto, in the latest interaction with CNBC-TV18 said exports bottomed out in February and have seen a recovery in March led by its biggest export market, Nigeria.
On the domestic front, there has been a growth in most other segments, with the exception of the passenger car segment, which witnessed a decline of nearly 12 percent. This decline though was offset by a jump of 8 percent seen in two-wheelers, while three-wheelers recorded a jump of 69 percent in domestic sales.
Overall sales for March were flat at 19.71 lakh units, with domestic sales growing at nearly 8.5 percent against a fall of 26 percent in exports.
The subdued sentiment was also reflected in the production data, with total production in the month of March seeing a minor growth of 1.4 percent to 20 lakh units. It's important to note that these numbers do not include sales of Tata Motors, Volvo Auto, BMW, and Mercedes.
In Thursday's trading session, the Nifty Auto index has been outperforming benchmarks led by healthy gains in stocks such as Eicher Motors, Maruti and Tata Motors. The export-heavy two-wheeler companies, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors too have been in the green territory for this week. TVS has gained 2 percent, while Bajaj Auto, amid positive brokerage reports, has moved 6 percent higher this week.
First Published: Apr 13, 2023 12:57 PM IST
