Auto Sales & Manufacturing PMI see a Bounce

· Manufacturing Output Expanded the Highest since March

A day after dispiriting news on the GDP front, there was cheer on Tuesday as both the Manufacturing PMI and auto sales numbers for August showed a smart recovery, signalling that easing of lockdown restrictions had led to a rebound in production.

For the first time since March, manufacturing output expanded in August to 52 compared to 46 in July, the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed. The manufacturing output acceleration was largely led by new domestic orders as businesses reopened after the easing of lockdown restrictions. Output and new orders expanded at the fastest pace since February, said IHS Markit, the agency which prepares the index.

The domestic automobile sales saw an improvement even on a year-on-year basis, partly aided by improved demand due to the unlocking and to some extent owing to the low base effect, say economy watchers.

Maruti, Hyundai lead

Both the top two passenger vehicle makers — Maruti and Hyundai — reported nearly 20 per cent growth in sales in August on a year-on-year basis. While Maruti’s sales grew 21 per cent to 1,13,033 units in August compared to 93,173 units in August 2019, Hyundai’s sales number for the month came in at 45,809 units, up 20 per cent over 38,205 units in August last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported domestic sales of 13,651 units in August tad higher than 13,507 units in the same month last year. “For August, we have registered growth in both SUVs and pick-ups. We have been able to meet the uplift in demand by managing the supply chain challenges,” said Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M.

New entrants Kia Motors India and MG Motor India reported a growth in numbers thanks to their hit models Seltos and Hector, respectively.

However, Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a sales decline of 48 per cent YoY to 5,555 units in August.

Mixed in 2-wheelers

In two-wheelers, market leader Hero MotoCorp reported a growth of over 8 per cent to 5,68,674 in August compared with 5,24,003 units in the corresponding month last year. However, sales for TVS Motor and Royal Enfield dipped during the month.

In the commercial vehicle segment, most of the companies reported growth during the month.