Expect weak auto sales in September, Ashok Leyland, M&M, Maruti Suzuki top picks: Analysts

Even in a market that has been cooling off, auto stocks are still buzzing. To talk about sales expectations in the current month, the demand-supply situation in the sector and their top picks from the space, CNBC-TV18 spoke with LKP Securities Research Analyst Ashwin Patil and Reliance Securities Head-Research Mitul Shah.

Patil expects the incoming monthly numbers to be weak. "In the last 8-10 days we had the Shraddha Paksha (Pitru Paksha), which is considered quite inauspicious, and also last year's base in September is high due to pent-up demand," he said.

Issues related to demand in the two-wheeler segment and supply of passenger vehicles continue, he added.

Patil likes Maruti Suzuki within the passenger vehicle segment, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra. From the two-wheelers segment, though demand does not look strong at this stage, he likes Bajaj Auto because of the company's strength and resilience on the exports front. From the commercial vehicles segment, Patil prefers Ashok Leyland to Tata Motors. The Tata Group stock is definitely having multiple levers that may pull it down anytime, he said.

Shah remains very bullish on commercial vehicles. The base in this segment is low and pent-up demand strong, aided by indicators such as GST collections and e-way bills, which are favouring economic improvement, he said.

Shah's top picks within the auto pack are Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge and Ramkrishna Forging.