Auto Stocks Mixed as October Sales Data Fails to Cheer Investors

Shares of auto companies were trading mixed on Friday after monthly sales data for the festive month of October failed to meet analyst expectations.

In afternoon trade, the Nifty Auto index was down 0.42%. Apollo Tyres Ltd was the biggest gainer in the auto pack, up 1.3%, followed by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (up 0.5%), Bajaj Auto Ltd (0.2%) and Hero MotoCorp Ltd (up 0.17%). Among the losers were Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (down 2.5%), TVS Motor Co. Ltd (down 0.9%), Ashok Leyland Ltd (0.85%) and Tata Motors Ltd (down 0.76%). Shares of Eicher Motors Ltd were trading unchanged.

The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki saw its domestic sales rise 4.5% year-on-year in October, driven by festive season sales and heavy discounts. The company sold 1.53 lakh units against 1.46 lakh units in the same month last year. However, the number came in lower than Nomura’s expectation of 1.7 lakh units.

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland posted 35% year-on-year decline in sales at 9,857 units in October, according to its stock exchange filing. Escorts Ltd sold 13,353 tractors last month, an increase of 1.6% from the year-ago period.

Two-wheeler company Bajaj Auto said total sales fell 9% year-on-year to 463,208 vehicles in October. However, this was the highest monthly sales number so far this year.

Analysts were expecting strong growth in auto sales for the month of October after 11 months of decline as both the Hindu festivals of Navratri and Diwali occurred in the same month, leading to a decent demand scenario in the market.