StatsGuru: Decoding the auto sector's recent numbers

Click on graphic

Recent figures from the automotive sector have brought considerable cheer to observers. As Table 1 shows, sales figures for passenger vehicles have shown a considerable uptick. Sales of utility vehicles, in particular, have grown substantially in the past two months, as Table 2 shows. More important, on industrial demand, it appears demand for commercial vehicles is showing a sharp revival, according to Table 3.

The numbers are less confident about a demand recovery for three-wheelers, sales of which are shown in Table 4. But, sales of two-wheelers have trended upwards in 2016 - although it shows a less robust recovery, according to Table 5, indicating rural demand remains somewhat weak. This conclusion is underlined by the year-on-year growth in these categories, shown in Table 6. Worryingly, the export of passenger vehicles, shown in Table 7, continues to show no upward trend. Table 8 shows the winners and losers in terms of stock prices in the past financial year and this one till date.