Auto stocks were in focus on Thursday as Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland, and Tata Motors among other auto manufacturers reported their sales numbers for August.
Bajaj Auto shares ended the session on a flat note as the company’s exports slipped, while Maruti Suzuki was off highs at the close after reporting below-estimate sales for August. Ashok Leyland’s sales and order wins beat estimates following which the stock rallied.
On the other hand, Eicher Motors and Hero Moto were amongst the top Nifty50 gainers as their stocks raced ahead of the release of monthly auto numbers.
Here’s how the auto stocks fared in September 1 session
| Stock | Change at close |
| Ashok Leyland | 5.71% |
| TVS Motor | 2.98% |
| Eicher Motors | 2.98% |
| Escorts | 1.39% |
| Hero Motocorp | 1.28% |
| M&M | 0.28% |
| Maruti Suzuki | -0.70% |
| Bajaj Auto | -0.33% |
| Tata Motors | -0.90% |
Maruti Suzuki's total sales grew by 26.4 percent and came in at 1.65 lakh units as compared to selling 1.3 lakh units in August last year. Total domestic sales grew by 30 percent and stood at 1.4 lakh units in August 2022 as compared to 1.1 lakh units in August 2021.
Tata Motors sold 35 percent more i.e. 78,843 vehicles in August in the domestic and international market, compared to 57,995 units during the same period a year ago.
Mahindra and Mahindra's (M&M) auto sales for the month jumped nearly 93 percent to 59,049 units compared to 30,585 in August last year.
Ashok Leyland's total sales for the last month increased by 51 percent to 14,121 units as compared to 9,360 units in the corresponding month a year ago.
Bajaj Auto, meanwhile, reported total sales growth at 8 percent on a year-on-year basis to over 4 lakh. The automaker expects to see a big jump in the market share in the month of September.
Unmesh Sharma, Head Institutional Equities, HDFC Securities said his company has added weight consistently to its model portfolio and its analyst who recently initiated coverage has a positive view on autos.
"We believe the run-up was justified," he told CNBC-TV18. "We continue to remain constructive on the space, especially on the domestic ones," he added.
N Jayakumar, MD of Prime Securities, said all auto stocks have been pure India plays. He recommends being a little cautious on the auto space as he believes the sector's stocks have run up a lot.
"It may have limited upside left unless there are stocks within the space, which are the sum of parts matrix where there's divestment theme is being talked about or the EV theme being pan out, etc.," he said.
