July Auto Sales: From premiumisation to struggling two-wheelers, here are the five major trends

From weakness in domestic two-wheelers to sluggish exports and a continuation of the premiumisation trend, some key trends emerged in from the auto sales data for July.

Hero MotoCorp is the top loser on the Nifty 50 index after its sales fell 12 percent from last year in July to 3.91 lakh units. Domestic sales were down 13 percent to 3.71 lakh units. The stock is also correcting due to some company-specific issues, but sales were not impressive either.

The management mentioned that unprecedented rains and floods in certain parts of the country caused crop damage in several states. This resulted in a sharp drop in customer footfalls at Hero's dealerships.

While Bajaj Auto's overall sales in July fell by 10 percent from last year, the company's exports fell by 18 percent from last year. Even TVS Motor saw a 20 percent year-on-year drop in overall exports to 89,213 units from 1.12 lakh units last July.

Escorts Kubota is the top performer on the midcap index, trading with gains of over 3 percent after strong earnings and robust sales in July. Domestic sales growth for Escorts Kubota grew by 9.7 percent in July and crossed the 5,000 units mark. Additionally, the management said that the retail demand will pick-up from the festive months starting in September. Mahindra & Mahindra, India's largest tractor manufacturer, witnessed a growth of 11 percent from last year to over 24,000 units.

Another trend that saw continuation in the month of July was premiumisation. Premium motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield saw sales in July rise by 32 percent from last year to over 73,000 units. Mahindra & Mahindra also saw its highest-ever SUV sales of 36,205 units last month. For Tata Motors, Electric Vehicle sales rose by 53 percent to 6,329 units.

While Tata Motors saw overall commercial vehicle sales drop by 4 percent in July, Ashok Leyland's Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle sales increased by 17 percent from last year. Overall sales for Ashok Leyland rose by 11 percent to cross 15,000 units.