Tata Motors falls; China sales drop a concern

Reuters Market Eye - Shares in Tata Motors Ltd fall 1.8 percent a day after its unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said retail vehicle sales grew by 3 percent to 26,855 vehicles in February, which were lower than expectations.

Concerns especially centre on JLR's 22 percent annualised decline in sales in the key China market, which the automaker said reflected that the Chinese New Year holidays fell in February compared to January in 2012.

Sales of Land Rover sports utility vehicles were lower in February compared with the same month last year, the company said without providing details.

Land Rover sales have been the major driver of the company's growth over the past 18 months.

 

Kotak Institutional Equities maintains its "buy" rating on the stock, saying JLR's market share would improve due to a ramp-up in the capacity of Evoque and the launch of China plant in FY 2015.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)