Indian car makers’ sales dip; smartphone market revives

India’s major car makers reported weak sales in July. However, two-wheelers and tractors off-take on a sequential basis in July showed narrowing of the de-growth rate.

Analysts said that the industry is still reeling under the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Automobile major Maruti Suzuki on Saturday reported a marginal year-on-year decline of 1.1 per cent in total sales during July 2020.

Accordingly, the company’s total off-take declined to 108,064 units from 109,264 units sold during July 2019. The total sales include 100,000 units off-take in the domestic market and 1,307 units to other OEM.

As per a company statement, exports during the period under review fell to 6,757 units from 9,258 units being shipped out in July 2019.

“Maruti Suzuki posted total sales of 108,064 units in July 2020. This is a growth of 88.2 per cent over June 2020 and a fall of 1.1 per cent over July 2019,”

Another automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) reported a 36 per cent fall in its total sales during July, on a year-on-year basis.

In a regulatory filing, the company said that it sold 25,678 units, including exports, last month, compared to 40,142 vehicles sold during the same period last year.

Similarly, the company reported a fall of 35 per cent in domestic sales last month.

It sold 24,211 units during the period under review from an off-take of 37,474 units in July 2019. M&M exported 1,467 units in the month under review down from 2,668 vehicles which were shipped out in July 2019.

Automobile manufacturer Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a 40 per cent growth in wholesales in the month of July compared to June 2020.

Accordingly, the company sold a total of 5,386 units in July 2020, from an off-take of 3,866 units in the first month post unlock in June.

On year-on-year basis, it had sold a total of 10,423 units in the domestic market in July 2019 and exported 868 units of the Etios as well.

Two and three-wheeler major TVS Motor Company reported a sequential sales growth of 27 per cent in July 2020. Accordingly, the company sold 252,744 units as against 198,387 units in June 2020.

“TVS Motor Company registered sales of 252,744 units in July 2020 as against 279,465 units registered in the month of July 2019,” the company said in a statement. According to the statement, the company’s total exports registered sales of 62,389 units in the month of July 2020 as against 69,994 units in July 2019.

“Two-wheeler exports registered sales of 54,141 units in July 2020 as against 57,190 units in July 2019,” the statement said.

Besides, the total two-wheelers registered sales of 243,788 units in July 2020 as against 265,679 units in July 2019.

“Domestic two-wheeler registered sales of 189,647 units in July 2020 as against 208,489 units in July 2019,” the statement said.

“Three-wheeler of TVS registered sales of 8,956 units in July 2020 as against 13,786 units in July 2019.”

Two-wheeler major Hero MotorCorp reported a marginal fall in its total sales including exports for the month of July.

Accordingly, the Hero MotoCorp sold 514,509 units of motorcycles and scooters in July 2020 from an off-take of 535,810 units in the corresponding period of last year.

“Despite the prevailing economic slowdown on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company registered a sequential growth of 14 per cent over the previous month (June 2020) and reached more than 95 per cent of wholesale dispatch numbers of the corresponding month in the previous year (July 2019),” the company said.

SMARTPHONES: After going through disruptions in supply chain and curtailed domestic production, the India smartphone market is now showing encouraging signs of revival that sets it on a potential course for market recovery for over 40 per cent in the second half this year, according to a new report.

Over the short-term, the mobile market will improve in mid-Q3, spurred by early online sales festivals, setting the smartphone market on a potential path to recovery towards the all-important festive season.

During this period, smartphone brands will focus on showcasing their consumer-centric value propositions, focusing more on hyperlocal delivery models, and launching more 5G-ready smartphones, according to market research firm CMR’s ‘India Mobile Handset Market Review Report’.

CMR’s current estimates point to a better performance for the India smartphone market in H2 2020, with the market anticipated to recover by more than 40 per cent in comparison to the first half.

“As a consequence of the pandemic, Q2 2020 was, in essence, a lost quarter. While the mobile handset industry faced multiple challenges with respect to their supply and demand side dynamics, the industry looks set on the path to a potential recovery in the coming months,” said Amit Sharma, Manager-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR.

The initial consumer demand in the unlock phase was driven predominantly through online channels and driven by need for urgent replacements.

“Facing up to the pandemic, smartphone brands debuted innovative hyperlocal delivery models, some of which have the potential to gain permanence,” Sharma added.

The path to potential recovery will be led by pent-up consumer demand, driven by need for upgrades.

In the run-up to the festive season, consumers will seek to go for meaningful value propositions that bring devices and compelling content ecosystem offerings, together.

Indo-Asian News Service