Supply chain constraints will keep plaguing automobile companies even though demand significantly improved resulting in a 13 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in sales in financial year 2021-22 (FY22). Executives at auto firms fear that the Russia-Ukraine war will further dent the sector's prospects of recovery as supply chains face more disruptions. "The visibility in the supply side is so hazy that it is difficult to give even one quarter projection. But all the parameters of demand like pending bookings and enquiries are increasing.
The regulatory burden is the highest on small cars, a key segment of the Indian automobile industry and having a uniform tax structure across all segments of vehicles will not augur well for the sector growth, according to Maruti Suzuki India chairman RC Bhargava. He also said India's economic growth rate could be higher if the manufacturing sector grows fast, which 'unfortunately' has remained a laggard despite the best efforts of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre due to implementation gaps at the ground level. "The burden of regulatory changes on the small cars is far higher than the regulatory burden on big cars and that is changing the whole market behaviour.
'From data on enquiries, we can build what we call a data lake or a data warehouse where data is classified into various cohorts and then we use AI and ML tools to predict demand down the line.'
Indian automakers dispatched nearly 2.92 lakh passenger vehicles, the highest ever for February so far, driven by strong demand for cars and utility vehicles, industry body SIAM said on Friday. The total passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers last month increased 11 per cent to 2,91,928 units from 2,62,984 units in February 2022. Passenger car sales rose to 1,42,201 units in February against 1,33,572 units in the year-ago period.
While compact SUV Vitara Brezza will cost Rs 20K more, Baleno will be constlier by Rs 10K
Maruti Suzuki, SBI, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp and Infosys too gained up to 2.55 per cent.
While the company used to report bookings of 4,000-5,000 every day, following the partial lifting of lockdown, in a week, it has received around 6,000.
market mood was also buoyed after China said its Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington next week for the signing of an interim trade deal. ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 3.80 per cent, followed by SBI, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints and RIL.
Maruti has committed Rs 5 crore towards the programme.
Market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies jumped to an all-time high of over Rs 280 lakh crore on Monday as benchmark indices bounced back after taking a breather in the previous trade. The 30-share BSE benchmark gained 85.88 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 61,308.91. During the day, it jumped 162.45 points to 61,385.48.
The Baleno is a runaway hit for Maruti Suzuki with delivery wait extending to six months.
Automobile exports from India recovered in the first quarter with all vehicle segments, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, witnessing growth following an improvement in the pandemic situation across various international markets. As per the latest SIAM data, total vehicle exports during the April-June quarter this fiscal stood at 14,19,430 units as compared with 436,500 units in the same period of 2020-21 which saw massive disruptions due to the COVID lockdowns across the country, hampering sales as well overseas shipments. SIAM director general Rajesh Menon told PTI that while two-wheeler shipments were better than previous three years, passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles export numbers were yet to catch up with numbers in the first quarter of 2018-19 fiscal.
A new era of Indian equity market outperformance compared to China "appears to be dawning", according to Morgan Stanley. The firm has upgraded India to overweight in its Asia Pacific-excluding Japan (APxJ) list, making it their most preferred market not only in the region but also in the global emerging market (GEM) pack. India now holds the top position in this category, with an overweight of 75 basis points, a significant increase from nil previously.
Companies in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector may legally challenge the Haryana government's new law which mandates 75 per cent reservation of jobs in the private sector for locals. "We had earlier gone to the high court against this law, but the court said that it would hear the matter after the law was notified," said Manoj Tyagi, general secretary, IMT Industrial Association. Industries and associations feel that the law will not benefit the state and will hit MSMEs that are just coming out of the crippling effects of the lockdowns owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It may not have a bold design but it addresses the needs for comfortable and affordable commuting.
Central trade unions have questioned Maruti Suzuki's decision to terminate the services of 500 of its permanent workers, alleging not just violation of the Industrial Disputes Act, but also immaturity on the management's part in failing to arrive at a peaceful settlement of the dispute.
Prices third Nexa car aggressively at Rs 4.59 lakh, to take on Hyundai's i10Grand and M&M'S KUV100.
Amid better semiconductor chip supplies, the Indian automotive industry posted an 8 percent growth in production of vehicles across categories for the month of May, with three-wheelers (20 per cent) and passenger vehicles (16 per cent) leading the pack. Exports, however, dipped 21 per cent at an industry level. The industry also recorded its highest-ever May wholesales of domestic passenger vehicles (334,802 units), riding on high demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and better supplies of semiconductor chips.
The company has sold over 12 lakh models of this car till date.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will be on a five-day tour to Japan from Sunday to expand business ties with that country and will also meet auto major Maruti Suzuki's top brass, official sources said.
The K-shaped economic recovery in India from the pandemic slowdown shows in corporate results as well. The automobile sector, which represents big-ticket consumption, continues to do well and has increased its share in corporate revenues and profits while fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies that sell low-ticket consumer goods are struggling with poor sales and earnings growth. The share of the automobile sector, including makers of auto ancillaries, in corporate net sales rose to a 10-quarter high of 10.05 per cent during July-September 2023 (Q2FY24) from 8.94 per cent a year earlier and 9.75 per cent in Q1FY24.
The previous May peak was observed in 2018 when the domestic PV wholesales stood at 301,238 units.
Benchmark BSE Sensex on Tuesday gave up intra-day gains to close lower by a little over 100 points on emergence of fag-end selling in FMCG, banking and IT stocks and weak opening in European stock markets. The 30-share BSE index declined 100.42 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 53,134.35. During the day, it jumped 631.16 points or 1.18 per cent to 53,865.93.
They are also on the board of Maruti Suzuki India.
Besides, Toyota and MG Motor also reported nil sales as they suspended operations even before the imposition of lockdown on March 25 to check the spread of coronavirus. In two-wheeler segment, niche bike maker Royal Enfield said it had zero sales in the domestic market but exported a total of 91 units last month.
The new body -- Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union -- has received its registration number from the Haryana Labour Department this week and the company has also decided to recognise it for any future negotiations at the plant.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) does not anticipate growth in the small car segment because people continue to find these vehicles unaffordable, chairman R C Bhargava said on Wednesday. He said the market had clearly shifted towards the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment and the company will go in the same direction. The domestic sales of utility vehicles jumped in India by 34.54 per cent to about 2 million units in FY23.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday reported 14 per cent increase in total wholesales at 159,044 units in November. The company had dispatched 139,184 units to dealers in November 2021, MSI said in a statement. Last month, the company's domestic sales rose 18 per cent to 139,306 units as against 117,791 units in November 2021, it added.
With sentiment for the automotive (auto) sector turning positive, stocks of two-wheeler auto majors have been hitting their 52-week highs. Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company, and Eicher Motors recently reached their yearly highs on strong sales in the festival season and the expectation of faster growth rates ahead. Since the start of this month, listed two-wheeler majors have delivered returns in the 12-17 per cent range, compared to the 7 per cent gains for the S&P BSE Auto Index and 3 per cent for the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.
It is currently working out the details of the quantum of price increase, which will vary depending on the model.
Among the Sensex constituents, Tata Motors was the biggest loser with 6.52 per cent fall, followed by Vedanta 5.09 per cent, Bajaj Auto 4.99 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 4.26 per cent and Tata Steel 2.65 per cent.
The muted expectation of dealers come at a time when vehicle manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Mahindra & Mahindra and others reported a double-digit fall in wholesale dispatches to dealerships in July and August.
India's corporate sector is likely to report a slowdown in revenue growth and earnings for the July-September 2023 period (Q2FY24), according to earnings estimates by brokerages, after the country's top listed companies posted higher than expected profits for the first quarter. The combined net profit of Nifty50 companies, based on brokerage estimates, is expected to have grown by 19.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1.75 trillion in Q2FY24 - a sharp deceleration from 37.6 per cent Y-o-Y growth in the combined earnings of index companies in the April-June 2023 period. According to estimates, the combined earnings in the second quarter would be down 8.8 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis and the lowest in the past three quarters.
Even as the slowdown in the information technology (IT) services sector deepens, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), as well as oil and gas companies, emerge as the primary drivers of corporate earnings in the country. The IT services sector's share in corporate earnings declined to a five-year low of 17.4 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), whereas banks and finance companies accounted for 46.5 per cent, and oil and gas firms contributed 16.8 per cent. At their peak, IT services firms like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCLTech, and Wipro represented just over a third of the combined net profit of all listed companies in the Business Standard sample.
In June, MSI recorded domestic sales at 83,531 units, compared to 70,020 units in the year-ago period, registering a rise of 19.30 per cent.
Ciaz, the mid-sized sedan, was launched in October 2014.
Benchmark indices fell on Monday with the BSE Sensex declining 306 points, mainly dragged down by Reliance Industries. Foreign funds outflow also added to the overall bearish trend in equities on Monday. The 30-share BSE benchmark fell 306.01 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 55,766.22. During the day, it declined 535.15 points or 0.95 per cent to 55,537.08. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 88.45 points or 0.53 per cent to 16,631.
The Baleno cars covered in the recall include 17,231 export units.
The Q1FY24 earnings season has started on a dismal note for corporate India. The early-bird companies' revenue growth has been at a 10-quarter low, while the combined earnings of non-BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) companies seem to have hit the ceiling. The numbers suggest corporate India is entirely dependent on BFSI companies and the IT services sector to drive growth in revenue and profit while other sectors are showing signs of stagnation.
Global tech major IBM, which employs over a lakh individuals in India, on Wednesday termed moonlighting an unethical practice. Moonlighting, the practice of taking up secondary jobs after the regular work hours, has been highlighted by many tech companies of late. IBM's managing director for India and South Asia, Sandip Patel said, at the time of joining, the company's employees sign an agreement saying they will be working only for IBM.
