India's two-wheeler sales surge in Nov on festive boost, rural demand

Indian two-wheeler makers outshone their four-wheeler counterparts in November, driven by a festive season-led pick up in rural demand, monthly sales data from auto manufacturers showed on Friday.

The numbers prompted optimism among industry watchers about two-wheeler demand for the rest of the financial year.

"We are estimating this momentum will continue for the balance of the year and till March because there are weddings and small festivals," SMIFS lead analyst Amit Hiranandani said.

"Premium portfolio is doing good and we are also witnessing some kind of rural uptick. If it is sustained for the rest of the year, that would be good for the industry," Hiranandani added.

Rural India accounts for 55% of total two-wheeler sales and is key for the sector.

While Bajaj Auto's domestic motorcycle volumes jumped 76% in November from a year ago, e-scooter maker Ola Electric's registrations rose 82% to a record 30,000 units.

The IPO-bound firm's service network has been struggling to keep pace with rising sales, Reuters reported earlier this week.

Indians generally make big-ticket purchases during the festive season, which ran between mid-October and mid-November this year. Analysts also noted that the upcoming wedding season could further boost two-wheeler sales.

Meanwhile, monthly sales of passenger vehicles (PVs) were largely flat in November, except for Mahindra and Mahindra .

While Mahindra's overall auto sales rose 21% last month, Maruti Suzuki's sales rose only 3.4% and Tata Motors' passenger vehicles sales fell slightly.

Maruti plans to focus on clearing existing inventory in December and would moderate its wholesale volumes, said Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director of sales and marketing.

Analysts at Motilal Oswal wrote last week that they had turned cautious on the passenger vehicle sector.

In the commercial vehicle space, Tata's sales of trucks and buses fell 3.5% in November, while sales at Ashok Leyland fell 3.5% and those at Eicher Motors rose 5.9%.

Below is a list of overall sales figures for November from some of India's leading auto companies:

Manufacturer Total Sales Y/Y growth (%)

(units)

Maruti Suzuki 164,439 3.4%

India

Hyundai Motor 65,801 2.8%

India

Tata Motors 74,172 -0.6%

Mahindra and 70,576 21%

Mahindra Auto

Bajaj Auto 403,003 31.4%

TVS Motor 277,123 31%

Eicher Motors 5,194 5.9%

Trucks and Buses

Ashok Leyland 14,053 -3.5%

(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar, Nandan Mandayam and Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Sonia Cheema and Dhanya Skariachan)