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How has the auto sector, a bellwether for economic recovery, been doing? 2014-15 is not yet over, but some trends are discernible. As Table 1 shows, it is unlikely that in the last remaining month, of March, commercial or passenger vehicles will jump to the rate of sales seen in the boom year of 2012-13.
That is not true of two-wheelers, which are definitely likely to sell more this year than in previous years - last year's numbers have already been almost equalled, according to Table 2.
However, as Table 3 shows, exports are doing well, and sales of passenger vehicles and three-wheelers should surpass previous years' numbers. It is worth noting that, for some categories like three-wheelers, exports are now a substantial proportion of production, as Table 4 shows.
How has the market treated auto firms? Overall, their shares have risen over the past year, according to Table 5.
But a lot of that, as Table 6 shows, is driven by outsize performance from Maruti Suzuki.
Tata Motors has also beaten the Sensex, perhaps due to a sharp rise in sales this year, as shown in Table 7. Profit has also increased for Tata Motors but has been flat for Maruti Suzuki, as Table 8 shows.
