The commercial vehicles and the two-wheeler segment of the Automobile industry, will have to adhere to BS IV emission norms across the country from April 2017 onwards. As a result commercial vehicles which sold 66,939 units in the month of February has clocked its best-ever monthly sales for the fiscal year 2016-17. This was mainly contributed by highest-ever sales of Medium & Heavy CVs in a single month this fiscal – 30,521 units, a YoY growth of 5.02%, clearly pointing to considerable pre-buying of heavy vehicles before the BS IV deadline of March 31, 2017. The Light CV segment also contributed to overall sector growth with sales of 36,418 units (9.38 %).
Bharat Stage emission standards, introduced in 2000, are emission standards that have been set up by the Central government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The different norms are brought into force in accordance with the timeline and standards set up by the Central Pollution Control Board which comes under the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change.
The Bharat Stage norms are based on European regulations. In 13 major cities, Bharat Stage IV emission standards were put in place in April 2010. BS-IV norms were supposed to come into effect nationwide from April 2017.
The auto companies have been manufacturing BS-IV compliant passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles since 2010. Implementation of BS-IV norms pan-India had been delayed due to non-availability of BS-IV fuel across the country, forcing some categories of four-wheeled vehicles to remain at the BS-III stage till 1 April 2017.
Domestic Sales
Commercial Vehicles
The overall Commercial Vehicles segment registered a growth of 3.49 % in April-February 2017 as compared to the same period last year. Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) declined marginally by (-) 0.79 % and Light Commercial Vehicles grew by 6.82 % during April-February 2017 over the same period last year.
In February 2017, Tata Motors’ overall CV sales declined marginally by one % to 30,407 units. M&HCV Cargo segment demand has picked up due to BS IV pre-buying – overall sales at 15,031 units were a YoY growth of 1 %. Bus sales continued to grow (+30 %), driven particularly by STU orders and supported by intercity and staff application segments. Demand from schools is also gaining momentum.
Ashok Leyland’s total sales remained in positive lane, up 5 % YoY with total sales of 14,067 units (February 2016: 13,406). Similarly, the M&HCV segment grew 5 % to 11,329 units (February 2016: 10,801). LCV sales were up by 5 % with sales of 2,738 units (February 2016: 2,605).
Mahindra & Mahindra’s total CV total sales were up by a good 18 % to 16,383 units (February 2016: 13,864). While M&HCV numbers rose 49% with sales of 716 units (February 2016: 479), the below-3.5 Tonnes GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) products recovered strongly to notch 17 % growth at 15,094 units (February 2016: 12,919). Products in the above-3.5T GVW segment did well to record 23 % growth with sales of 573 units (February 2016: 466).
VE Commercial Vehicles’ registered 13 % growth in February with sales of 4,828 units (February 2016: 4,264).
Passenger Vehicles
The sales of Passenger Vehicles grew by 9.16 % in April-February 2017 over the same period last year. Within the Passenger Vehicles, Passenger Cars, Utility Vehicles and Vans grew by 3.44 %, 31.01 % and 3.98 % respectively during April-February 2017 over the same period last year.
Maruti Suzuki India sold a total of 120,599 units in the domestic market, a year-on-year growth of 11.7 % (February 2016: 108,115). The entry level, bread-and-butter duo of the Alto and Wagon R, sold 33,079 units in February 2017 (February 2016: 35,495), down 6.8 % YoY. Sales of the six compact cars comprising the Swift, Ritz, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire posted 9.4 % growth at 47,002 units (February 2016: 42,970). The Dzire Tour, which is sold only as a taxi, sold 2,574 units, down 26.9 % (February 2016: 3,522). The Ciaz premium sedan, which is now to be sold from the premium Nexa channel, went home to 5,886 buyers, up 14 % (February 2016: 5,162). The two vans – Omni and Eeco – continue to give a fillip to overall sales numbers with sales of 14,195 units, up 13.7 % (February 2016: 12,482).
Hyundai Motor India has reported domestic sales of 42,327 units, a year-on-year growth of 4 % (February 2016: 40,716). The popular Creta, which recorded an all-time monthly high of 9,002 units, has given a new charge to the Korean carmaker. In the process, the Creta has also gone on to cross the sales landmark of 150,000 units in the domestic market, 21 months after it was launched.
Three Wheelers
Three Wheelers sales declined by (-)2.96 % in April-February 2017 over the same period last year. Passenger Carrier sales declined by (-) 6.45 % and Goods Carrier sales grew by 13.01 % in April-February 2017 over April- February 2016.
Two Wheelers
Two Wheelers sales registered a growth at 7.54 % during April-February 2017 over April-February 2016. Within the Two Wheelers segment, Scooters, Motorcycles and Mopeds grew by 11.71 %, 4.36 % and 25.69 % respectively in April-February 2017 over April- February 2016.
Hero MotoCorp, it sold a total of 524,766 units last month, down by 4.76 % YoY (February 2016: 550,992). TVS Motor Company has saw domestic sales of 172,611 units in February 2017, down by 5.78 % YoY (February 2016: 183,199). Bajaj Auto has reported total domestic sales of 142,287 units last month, down by 5.86 % YoY (February 2016: 151,141).
Production
The industry produced a total 23,059,539 vehicles including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three wheelers, two wheelers and quadricycle in April-February 2017 as against 21,869,793 in April-February 2016, registering a growth of 5.44 % over the same period last year.
Exports
In April-February 2017, overall automobile exports declined by (-) 5.94 %. While Passenger Vehicles and Commercial Vehicles exports registered a growth of 16.28 % and 6.90 % respectively, exports of Three Wheelers and Two Wheelers declined by (-) 33.40 % and (-) 7.65 % respectively in April-February 2017 over April-February 2016.
