Auto stocks piggybacking sales surge

 The passenger cars and utility vehicles segments have registered especially strong growth, fuelled in turn by the availability of cheaper credit.

 The Bajaj Auto scrip has gained 65.06 per cent from Rs 553.25 on July 3, just when the contours of the monsoon were becoming clearer to Rs 913.20 on November 5.

 The Hero Honda scrip has gained 44.17 percent from Rs 254.35 to Rs 366 .70 and LML has improved 34.14 per cent from Rs 45.55 to Rs 61.10.

 But the larger gains have been reported by commercial vehicle manufacturers. The Ashok Leyland scrip has vaulted 85.92 per cent from Rs 129.30 to Rs 240.40, Swaraj Mazda has gained 43.51 per cent from Rs 130.55 to Rs 187.35. Tata Motors has surged 88.04 per cent from Rs 204.05 to Rs 383.70 and among utility vehicle manufacturers, Mahindra & Mahindra scrip has gained 111.74 per cent from Rs 163.95 to Rs 347.15.

 Satish Ramnath, auto analyst with ICICI Securities, said the