Rural Auto Sales

Retail sales during the Navratras grew by mid-to-high single digits across regions even as rural sales have remained muted, a brokerage firm said in a report on the automobile sector on Thursday. The report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services also said that during the last week of October, inquiries and bookings are seeing a slight improvement for passenger vehicle OEMs (original equipment makers) especially for Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors. "We observed varied demand trends in October, with two-wheelers and tractors showing positive momentum and passenger and commercial vehicles witnessing moderate demand. A better monsoon is helping drive positive sentiment in rural regions, though the sustainability of this demand remains to be seen," the brokerage firm said. Overall, two-wheelers performed better, with festive growth expected at 4-5 per cent year-on-year partially constrained by a high base, it said. At the same time, passenger vehicles may see a fall in the festive season ...

India's domestic automobile industry is expected to record moderate growth in volumes in FY24, but a sustained recovery in demand sentiments remains to be seen, amid concerns over the impact of an uneven monsoon on rural demand, ratings agency ICRA said on Tuesday. The industry has been on a comeback trail over the past two years, aided by a recovery in economic activities and increased mobility although the pace of revival across the various automotive segments has been somewhat mixed, ICRA said in a statement. The passenger vehicle segment reached all-time high volume levels in FY23, aided by preference for personal mobility and stable semiconductor supplies and the demand sentiments are expected to remain healthy in the segment, 6-9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in FY2024, it added. Similarly, the commercial vehicle industry's overall industry volumes are expected to approach pre-pandemic highs, even as the growth is expected to remain at modest levels in FY24, 2-4 per cent

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said it has crossed the 50 lakh cumulative sales milestone in rural markets of India. With over 1,700 customised outlets in rural parts of the country, nearly 40 per cent of the total MSIL sales come from rural markets today, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) said in a statement. The company's total sales in the April-June period of this fiscal stood at 3,53,614 units. In fiscal 2020-21, it had sold a total of 14,57,861 units, down from 15,63,297 units sold in 2019-20. Commenting on the feat, MSIL Senior Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) Shashank Srivastava said, "We are proud to announce that with the support from our customers and local dealer partners, we have achieved 50 lakh sales in rural India cumulatively." Stating that rural markets have a very special place in the company's business, he said, "over the years, we have carefully studied the needs of this segment... We remain committed to deliver products and

Valuations factor in the volume rebound, leaving little upside from the current levels

Factors that helped rural sales included a good monsoon, an excellent rabi crop and a relatively lesser spread of the Coronavirus

In the second quarter, the pandemic penetrated deeper into the hinterland, and the share of fresh rural cases more than doubled to 38 per cent by September

The market has been quick to spot the opportunity. Over the past few sessions, tyre stocks have been on a roll with JK Tyre, Ceat, MRF logging smart gains at the bourses

Rural sales at present are around 23 per cent of overall sales, which is nearly the same as in pre-Covid times

Kharif crops account for nearly 9 per cent of the total gross value added and contribute nearly 60 per cent of value addition of the agriculture and allied activities sector

The two-wheeler bellwether reported wholesale dispatches for the month of June at 4.5 lakh units, up from 1.12 lakh units sold in May.

Market leader's share in the economy segment improved by 600 basis points in FY20

Monsoon has brought cheer to car makers' sales in the rural markets. Rural sales in the first quarter has shown a strong double digit growth with market leader Maruti Suzuki reporting a near thirty per cent increase in volume in these markets. Korean car maker Hyundai has clocked a growth of more than 23 per cent in units sold in rural markets. In case of both these companies, which together control about 67 per cent of domestic car market, the pace of growth in rural markets is significantly higher than the overall sales growth. Maruti Suzuki has sold a total of 134,624 vehicles in rural markets during April-June period, growing over 29 per cent from 104,059 units from last year. The company's total domestic sales grew 14 per cent during the quarter. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) last month raised its estimate of this year's rainfall to 98 per cent of the long period average (LPA) against 96 per cent earlier. LPA is the average rainfall received in the fifty years ending .