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Passenger vehicle exports from India increased 43 per cent in FY22, with Maruti Suzuki India leading the segment with dispatches of over 2.3 lakh units, as per the latest data by industry body SIAM. The total passenger vehicle (PV) exports stood at 5,77,875 units in 2021-22 fiscal, as compared to 4,04,397 units in 2020-21. Passenger car shipments saw 42 per cent growth at 3,74,986 units, while utility vehicle exports rose 46 per cent at 2,01,036 units during the last fiscal, the data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed.
Domestic passenger vehicle dispatches witnessed a 13 per cent year-on-year rise in April as demand remained robust across segments, industry body Siam said on Friday. The total passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers rose to 331,278 units last month compared to 293,303 units in April 2022. Market leader Maruti Suzuki India dispatched 137,320 units to dealers last month against 121,995 units in April last year.
Equity benchmarks recovered most of their intra-day losses and ended marginally lower on Tuesday amid buying in index majors Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services. Helped by last minute buying activity in some of the index heavyweights, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex managed to trim most of its early declines and ended lower by 103.90 points or 0.17 per cent at 61,702.29. During the day, it had tumbled 703.51 points or 1.13 per cent to 61,102.68.
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.
Buying a car, particularly a diesel-powered one, is set to pinch the customers' pockets even more from the next financial year, as the second phase of Bharat Stage VI (BSVI) emission norms kicks in. The rules require cars to be compliant with real driving emission (RDE) norms, which measure pollutants emitted by cars while they are being driven on the road, unlike in a laboratory test. The norms may increase the cost of producing diesel vehicles by nearly Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000, and petrol-powered ones by Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000, analysts said.
Dealers across brands are slashing prices by Rs 20,000 to over Rs 1 lakh, depending on the car model.
'Nearly all companies are extending festival offers for entry-level, sedan, and hatchback segments.'
From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel plunged nearly 5 per cent. Other major laggards were Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Maruti Suzuki.
Code-named Pelican, bigger hatchback with new petrol and diesel engines may hit the road next year.
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
Operating margins have been the primary driver of corporate earnings in India in recent quarters, despite revenue growth suffering from weak consumer demand. Companies across sectors have reported a sharp improvement in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margins over the past two years, benefiting from lower commodity and energy prices. Higher margins more than compensated for slower revenue growth, resulting in double-digit growth in net profit for five consecutive quarters.
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.
Many say Tata Motors has perhaps paid the price for being too ambitious.
A clutch of automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Mercedes Benz India, Eicher Motors, TVS Motor, and Isuzu Motors India announced they had got the clearance from the governments of the states they operate in to resume operations.
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.
Currently, Maruti Suzuki has 14 car brands, but it has decided to expand into some new segments.
Carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Renault, Kia India and MG Motor on Wednesday announced plans to hike vehicle prices from January to partially offset the impact of rising input costs. They join the likes of market leader Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors, which have also made the year-end announcements to raise prices from next month. Audi India said it will increase prices of its entire model range by up to 1.7 per cent, while Mercedes-Benz India noted it will hike the prices by up to 5 per cent from January 1.
Jimny will be priced between Rs 12.7 lakh and Rs 15.05 lakh.
The previous May peak was observed in 2018 when the domestic PV wholesales stood at 301,238 units.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) - the market leader in small cars - is eyeing the top spot in the sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment within a year - with a 33 per cent share of the pie. The company has been selling two SUVs - the Brezza and the Grand Vitara - and will start deliveries of the Jimny and the Fronx from March-end, and has set a target of growing its share from the current 11.5 per cent of the SUV market to 33 per cent by the end of 2023-24. The SUV segment is roughly about 42 per cent of the total passenger vehicle market, or around 1.3 million units.
Tata Motors is giving a much stronger focus on the design of its cars, from planning product life cycle in a better way to incorporating subtle Indian elements to its future models.
MSI's exports, however, fell by 13 per cent to 10,554 units.
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.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Friday after two days of fall, helped by buying in metal, telecom and auto stocks amid a firm trend in global markets. Automakers led by Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra reporting robust wholesales of passenger vehicles and GST collections crossing Rs 1.50 lakh crore for the third straight month in May also added to the optimism. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 118.57 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 62,547.11.
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Only five of India's top 20 car models have seen a reduction in wait times over the past year.
Automobile retail sales in India rose 11 per cent in September as better supplies from manufacturers enabled dealers to ramp up customer deliveries amid the ongoing festive period, Federation Of Automobile Dealers Associations said on Tuesday. Last month, total retail sales stood at 14,64,001 units as compared to 13,19,647 units in September 2021. FADA noted that October is expected to witness even better overall sales due to the festive season further gathering steam.
Seven auto companies lost share in the current year because of different reasons.
Even as banks and finance companies are reporting record-high earnings, their weighting in the benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index has seen a downward trajectory. Investors expect a stronger performance from other sectors in the new year. Currently, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies collectively hold a weighting of 34.5 per cent, down from 36.7 per cent at the end of December 2022 and a record high of 40.6 per cent at the end of December 2019. This represents the sector's lowest weighting in the index since December 2021 when it stood at 33.7 per cent.
Innovation ranging from exterior designs of vehicles to EV charger locks grabbed eyeballs at the expo
The limited availability of flexible (flex)-fuel vehicles in the Indian market and the slow rollout of ethanol-blended petrol by oil-marketing companies (OMCs) remain major obstacles to achieving widespread use of biofuels in the transportation sector in India. Recently, two Union ministers have emphasised India's biofuel potential, arguing that it has the capacity and potential to lead a transition towards widespread biofuel adoption. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari signalled that this transition is well underway and urged car manufacturers to quickly adapt and introduce new biofuel-run vehicles, lest the government resort to taxing diesel vehicles.
'Some of the launches may get deferred due to the semiconductor shortage, which is unlikely to get resolved before the second half of 2022.'
The new year will see a line of hatchbacks (including compact SUVs) hit the Indian roads. Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com offers a peek.
Apart from around 40 Japanese companies and five global vendors of MG Motor India, many other biggies are eyeing Gujarat for either greenfield opportunities or brownfield expansion.
MSI said compact sedan Dzire Tour stood out as sales rose by over two-fold during the month under review to 3,370 units as against 1,299 in July 2014.
Open order books in February breach 700,000; wait period for some models exceed a year.
RBI's interest rate decision, macroeconomic data and global trends would dictate terms in the equity market in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Besides, the focus will also be on foreign portfolio investors' trading activity, they added. Equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday for 'Mahavir Jayanti' and on Friday on account of 'Good Friday'.
