Auto stocks decline as March sales plunge amid coronavirus lockdown

At the index level, the Nifty Auto index was down 1.4 per cent as compared to 1.3 per cent decline in the Nifty50 index

Shares of automobile companies declined as much as 7 per cent on the NSE on Friday as the March sales numbers disappointed, largely due to the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

According to this Business Standard report, the country’s automobile sales are down by an average 64 per cent as all manufacturing plants have been shut since the lockdown announced on March 24.

Among individual stocks, Ashok Leyland declined 6.93 per cent while TVS Motor slipped 6.5 per cent to a fresh 52-week low of Rs 261. Motherson Sumi and Hero MotoCorp dipped in the range of