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Mint
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
Maruti, Hero among automakers boosting earnings with exports as domestic demand remains on shaky ground
New Delhi: Exports of cars, scooters and motorcycles helped the country's top automakers post growth in their earnings in FY25 and beat domestic market blues caused by weak consumer sentiment. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country's largest carmaker, and Hero MotoCorp Ltd, the biggest two-wheeler company, relied on export growth of 17% and 43%, respectively, to post a surge in profit and revenue during the year. Both companies recorded their slowest growth in domestic sales since FY22. Maruti Suzuki's sales grew 3% to 1.9 million vehicles, while Hero MotoCorp's sales increased by 5% to 5.9 million during the previous fiscal. TVS Motor Company Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Eicher Motors Ltd were among the companies that recorded a surge in exports, although their domestic sales growth remained decent. TVS Motor's exports grew 18% to 1.2 million two-wheelers. Mahindra's overseas shipments grew 41% to 34,709 vehicles, while Eicher Motors' Royal Enfield exports grew by 30% to 100,136 motorcycles. Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers indicated that domestic passenger vehicle sales grew 2% to 4.3 million, but exports surged by 15% to 770,364 units. Two-wheeler sales in the domestic market grew by 8% to 24.6 million units while exports grew by 19% to 5.2 million units. Analysts said the growing share of exports in the portfolio of auto companies is helping them in expanding margins, thus increasing profitability. Also Read | In charts: How second-hand car sales are picking up in India 'International sales are generally more profitable for Indian auto companies, and that's one of the reasons earnings have seen a boost in FY25," said Shridhar Kallani, an auto research analyst at Axis Securities. 'Exports typically fetch better margins because they offer higher selling prices, benefit from a favourable exchange rate, and involve lower discounting compared to the intensely competitive domestic market." Growth booster For Maruti Suzuki, exports are increasingly emerging as a driver of growth. 'We are growing better because exports have been very buoyant. In the coming year, exports are expected to grow by 20%. This is going to be the main driver for our production, sales, and profits," RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, said during a post-results media briefing on 25 April. After a 3% growth in domestic car sales, the New Delhi-based company posted a 7.5% increase in profit to ₹14,500 crore in FY25. Encouraged by the strong growth in the overseas market, Maruti plans to export the majority of the 70,000 electric cars it will produce this fiscal. Hero MotoCorp reported a 5% rise in domestic sales of motorcycles and scooters, but exports grew 44%, albeit on a lower base, which helped the company post a 16% jump in profit to ₹4,610 crore. Company executives noted during the earnings call on 14 May that sales growth in the overseas market is expected to increase in the current financial year as it chalks an expansion plan. Also Read | Prediction: Maruti stock will beat the market. Here's why. Hero will enter the European and the UK market during the second half of this financial year. Its new electric Vida Z model to be launched in July will be sold in Europe and the UK. Hyundai Motor India, the South Korean subsidiary of auto giant Hyundai, is also relying on exports to help it beat the domestic market blues. It is targeting a 7-8% growth in exports in the current financial year. Hyundai India's sales in the domestic market declined by 3% during the year. 'We will grow in line with the industry within the country. The focus will be on exports growth to offset domestic market challenges," said Tarun Garg, chief operating officer at Hyundai Motor India. Positive outlook The major markets abroad for Indian auto companies include Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. Also Read | Hero MotoCorp needs 125cc to stay in the fast lane While macro challenges like weak Africa recovery and volatility in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh exist, most manufacturers expect FY26 to be strong, said Sanket Kelaskar, an institutional equity analyst at Ashika Group. 'There are structural scale-up targets of the companies. A ramp-up in earlier entry markets will help. Despite some near-term risks, the medium-term export outlook remains positive," Kelaskar said.
Economic Times
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Economic Times
SUVs drive April auto sales up 4% as entry-level buyers hold back
Sales of cars, sedans and utility vehicles last month grew by about 4% supported by demand for SUVs which managed to retain traction among more affluent buyers, even as customers at the entry-level stayed away from making purchases dragging down sales of small cars. As per data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), as many as 348,847 units were dispatched from factories to dealerships in April, which is an increase of 3.9% over 335,629 units sold in the year-ago period. This is the highest-ever sales in absolute volumes recorded for the month of April in the local market. Automakers in India mostly report wholesale dispatches from factories and not retail sales to customers. Sales of three-wheelers in the month under consideration dipped marginally - by 0.7% to 49,441 units. Those of two-wheelers too were in the red dropping by about 17% to 1,458,784 units in April. While sales of motorcycles declined by 22.7% to 871,666 units, those of scooters fell by 5.7% to 548,370 units. Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM confirmed, 'Passenger vehicles segment posted its highest ever sales of April in 2025 of 3.49 lakh units, with a growth of 3.9% as compared to April 2024. Three-wheelers de-grew marginally by (-) 0.7% compared to April of previous year, with sales of 0.49 lakh units. The two-wheeler segment de grew by (-) 16.7% in April 2025, as compared to April 2024, with sales of 14.59 lakh units, due to high base effect of April last year, while it is likely to pick up in coming months.' Senior industry executives expect car sales to remain muted and grow by about 2% in the ongoing financial year, albeit on a high base, due to adverse macro-economic factors in the ongoing financial year. 'Without revival of the small car market, growth in the domestic industry will remain muted. To buy a carpriced over Rs 10 lakh, you need to have annual household income of more than Rs 12 lakh. How can the car market get to high growth when 88% of households earn less than $14,000 a year', Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava said in a post-earnings call recently, adding that 60-70% of consumers today do not have the option to buy a carbecause of affordability sales, though, are expected to fare better driven by consumer demand in rural areas. Market leader Hero MotoCorp in it's post-results call said it expects two-wheeler sales this fiscal to grow by 6-7% on back of favourable monsoons, strengthening of the rural economy, revision in income tax slabs which are expected to put more money in hands of motorcycle buyers. To be sure, vehicle prices in the segment have risen recently - by about 2% - on account of implementation of OBD2 (onboard diagnostic norms), but industry watchers do not expect much impact of demand because of the price revision on this count. 'Auto industry smoothly transitioned to the new regulatory regime of 2nd stage of On Board Diagnostics (OBD) 2 regulation for two and three-wheelers from April 2025 onwards, in addition to rolling out E-20 compliant gasoline vehicles across the country from this month', Menon said. Category April 2024 April 2025 % Change PassengerVehicle / 3,35,629/ 3,48,847/ 3.9 Three-wheelers/ 49,774/ 49,441/ -0.7% Two-wheelers/ 17,51,393/ 14,58,784/ -16.7% Domestic sales only Source : Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
SUVs drive April auto sales up 4% as entry-level buyers hold back
Sales of cars, sedans and utility vehicles last month grew by about 4% supported by demand for SUVs which managed to retain traction among more affluent buyers, even as customers at the entry-level stayed away from making purchases dragging down sales of small cars. As per data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers ( SIAM ), as many as 348,847 units were dispatched from factories to dealerships in April, which is an increase of 3.9% over 335,629 units sold in the year-ago period. This is the highest-ever sales in absolute volumes recorded for the month of April in the local market. Automakers in India mostly report wholesale dispatches from factories and not retail sales to customers. Sales of three-wheelers in the month under consideration dipped marginally - by 0.7% to 49,441 units. Those of two-wheelers too were in the red dropping by about 17% to 1,458,784 units in April. While sales of motorcycles declined by 22.7% to 871,666 units, those of scooters fell by 5.7% to 548,370 units. Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM confirmed, 'Passenger vehicles segment posted its highest ever sales of April in 2025 of 3.49 lakh units, with a growth of 3.9% as compared to April 2024. Three-wheelers de-grew marginally by (-) 0.7% compared to April of previous year, with sales of 0.49 lakh units. The two-wheeler segment de grew by (-) 16.7% in April 2025, as compared to April 2024, with sales of 14.59 lakh units, due to high base effect of April last year, while it is likely to pick up in coming months.' Senior industry executives expect car sales to remain muted and grow by about 2% in the ongoing financial year, albeit on a high base, due to adverse macro-economic factors in the ongoing financial year. 'Without revival of the small car market, growth in the domestic industry will remain muted. To buy a carpriced over Rs 10 lakh, you need to have annual household income of more than Rs 12 lakh. How can the car market get to high growth when 88% of households earn less than $14,000 a year', Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava said in a post-earnings call recently, adding that 60-70% of consumers today do not have the option to buy a carbecause of affordability issues. Two-wheeler sales, though, are expected to fare better driven by consumer demand in rural areas. Market leader Hero MotoCorp in it's post-results call said it expects two-wheeler sales this fiscal to grow by 6-7% on back of favourable monsoons, strengthening of the rural economy, revision in income tax slabs which are expected to put more money in hands of motorcycle buyers. To be sure, vehicle prices in the segment have risen recently - by about 2% - on account of implementation of OBD2 (onboard diagnostic norms), but industry watchers do not expect much impact of demand because of the price revision on this count. 'Auto industry smoothly transitioned to the new regulatory regime of 2nd stage of On Board Diagnostics (OBD) 2 regulation for two and three-wheelers from April 2025 onwards, in addition to rolling out E-20 compliant gasoline vehicles across the country from this month', Menon said. CategoryApril 2024April 2025% ChangePassengerVehicle / 3,35,629/3,48,847/3.9Three-wheelers/49,774/49,441/-0.7%Two-wheelers/17,51,393/14,58,784/-16.7%Domestic sales only Source : Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
SUVs drive April auto sales up 4% as entry-level buyers hold back
Sales of cars, sedans and utility vehicles last month grew by about 4% supported by demand for SUVs which managed to retain traction among more affluent buyers, even as customers at the entry-level stayed away from making purchases dragging down sales of small cars. As per data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), as many as 348,847 units were dispatched from factories to dealerships in April, which is an increase of 3.9% over 335,629 units sold in the year-ago period. This is the highest-ever sales in absolute volumes recorded for the month of April in the local market. Automakers in India mostly report wholesale dispatches from factories and not retail sales to customers. Sales of three-wheelers in the month under consideration dipped marginally - by 0.7% to 49,441 units. Those of two-wheelers too were in the red dropping by about 17% to 1,458,784 units in April. While sales of motorcycles declined by 22.7% to 871,666 units, those of scooters fell by 5.7% to 548,370 units. Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM confirmed, 'Passenger vehicles segment posted its highest ever sales of April in 2025 of 3.49 lakh units, with a growth of 3.9% as compared to April 2024. Three-wheelers de-grew marginally by (-) 0.7% compared to April of previous year, with sales of 0.49 lakh units. The two-wheeler segment de grew by (-) 16.7% in April 2025, as compared to April 2024, with sales of 14.59 lakh units, due to high base effect of April last year, while it is likely to pick up in coming months.' Senior industry executives expect car sales to remain muted and grow by about 2% in the ongoing financial year, albeit on a high base, due to adverse macro-economic factors in the ongoing financial year. 'Without revival of the small car market, growth in the domestic industry will remain muted. To buy a carpriced over Rs 10 lakh, you need to have annual household income of more than Rs 12 lakh. How can the car market get to high growth when 88% of households earn less than $14,000 a year', Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava said in a post-earnings call recently, adding that 60-70% of consumers today do not have the option to buy a carbecause of affordability issues. Two-wheeler sales, though, are expected to fare better driven by consumer demand in rural areas. Market leader Hero MotoCorp in it's post-results call said it expects two-wheeler sales this fiscal to grow by 6-7% on back of favourable monsoons, strengthening of the rural economy, revision in income tax slabs which are expected to put more money in hands of motorcycle buyers. To be sure, vehicle prices in the segment have risen recently - by about 2% - on account of implementation of OBD2 (onboard diagnostic norms), but industry watchers do not expect much impact of demand because of the price revision on this count. 'Auto industry smoothly transitioned to the new regulatory regime of 2nd stage of On Board Diagnostics (OBD) 2 regulation for two and three-wheelers from April 2025 onwards, in addition to rolling out E-20 compliant gasoline vehicles across the country from this month', Menon said. Category April 2024 April 2025 % Change PassengerVehicle / 3,35,629/ 3,48,847/ 3.9 Three-wheelers/ 49,774/ 49,441/ -0.7% Two-wheelers/ 17,51,393/ 14,58,784/ -16.7% Domestic sales only Source : Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Hero gains market share in entry level bikes on higher rural buying, lower finance rates in FY25
HighlightsHero MotoCorp gained 600 basis points in entry-level motorcycle market share in FY25, driven by rural demand revival and easing credit conditions. The company aims to scale its EV business under the VIDA brand, targeting breakeven at 25,000–30,000 monthly units in the next two years. Hero also entered the electric 3-wheeler space in FY25 with a 34.1% stake acquisition in Euler Motors. New Delhi: Demand in the entry level motorcycle segment has seen a revival and Hero MotoCorp plans to make the most of this phenomenon. Hero has the largest share of the entry level pie and claims to have gained 600 basis points (6per cent ) market share in this segment in FY25. It is interesting that Hero has underlined the return of demand in the entry level motorcycle business, its bread and butter, in the last fiscal. The same trend has not been seen in the entry level car market for example, with Maruti Suzuki lamenting the continued decline in the sales of entry level cars recently. Like the entry level bikes , such cars are also typically bought by first time buyers and have had a historic appeal in smaller towns and the hinterland. Maruti Chairman R C Bhargava had said that 88per cent of India was not participating in the car growth story and this was the primary reason for decline of entry level cars. Also Read: Hero MotoCorp completes acquisition of 34.1% stake in Euler Motors But for Hero MotoCorp , the last fiscal has brought cheer. Executive Director and Acting CEO Vikram Kasbekar said in a call with analysts after the Q4 FY25 results that the company has seen 'a strong bounceback' in the entry level segment and that it has 'outperformed' the 125 cc category of motorcycles last fiscal. We've been growing market share on Vahan sequentially every month in this calendar year already…Increasing dominance in entry level and as that market share has gone to 65per cent , up 6per cent growth Kasbekar Hero has attributed this turn in fortunes to various factors: resurgence in rural buying due to good monsoon rains and consequent increase in farm incomes, reduction in financing stress for this segment of buyers and easing of lending rates by the RBI (which led to lower instalments for customers). Kasbekar said in reply to a question that in the March quarter, Hero gained 600 basis points (6per cent ) in market share in the entry level motorcycle segment. To another question on a decline in the industry volume in the 100 cc segment in the last two quarters of FY25, Kasbekar acknowledged that the 100 cc and the entry category has been under stress due to stress 'at the bottom of the pyramid' for the last few years. 'In quarter four, I mean, we had seen an impact across categories, not only in this. I mean, if you look at the delta shift from how these segments were growing versus how quarter four behaved, you saw a blip across categories. So we really can't single out the 100cc category just by itself. That said, I mean, we are a very dominant player in this category. In the 100cc, we operate with almost a 90per cent market share. Year on year, we have had a 600 basis points increase in terms of entry market share. So here our job is to expand the category and this is where we are going to be focused upon,' he said. Also Read: Hero MotoCorp's CHRO Rachna Kumar joins TVS Motor Hero reported the highest revenue and profits for FY25 and plans to continue growing market share in the current fiscal, led by entry-level and 125cc motorcycles. 'We've been growing market share on Vahan sequentially every month in this calendar year already…Increasing dominance in entry level and as that market share has gone to 65per cent , up 6per cent growth year on year. The growth in the 125 cc segment with product interventions, process improvement is something that's been helping us go forward,' Kasbekar said. We will continue to improve on our profitability as we go forward… I continue to really drive the business with a lot more Kasbekar EV breakeven in two years In the electric vehicle business (VIDA brand of electric scooters), Kasbekar said the company gained market share during the March quarter and reached 7per cent . He said the EV business is on a sustained growth curve held by investments behind the brand, brand building, pricing intervention and launch of the Vida V2 scooter. 'In 30 markets, cities, we have grown by 20per cent and in 60 cities we have grown by 10per cent .' With volume growth of 200per cent in FY25, EBITDA for the EV business also improved to 95per cent from -155per cent in the previous fiscal. Kasbekar said while Hero's priority would be scaling up the EV business, breakeven will happen only at 25000-30,000 monthly sales volume and this could take a couple of years. In the 100cc, we operate with almost a 90per cent market share. Year on year, we have had a 600 basis points increase in terms of entry market Kasbekar 'So as we really look forward, our priority is very clearly to grow volumes, to scale up the business and to really grow market share. Having said that, we will continue to improve on our profitability as we go forward… I continue to really drive the business with a lot more efficiency. What will really make this business profitable is the scale up, which we talked about…also what I want to really add is that at a 25,000- 30,000 levels of volume per month, we hope that this will break even. Which in our view is a couple of years away.' During the fiscal, Hero also entered the electric three wheeler market by acquiring 34.1per cent stake in Euler Motors.
