Tata Motors sees sharp rise in domestic CV sales

M&HCVs lead the way with 90% growth

Tata Motors registered a strong growth of 58% in May 2018, selling 54,295 units of its commercial and passenger vehicles in the domestic market as against 34,461 units over the same month last year. The company’s cumulative sales for the domestic market (April-May 2018) stood at 107,806 units compared to 63,305 units over last year, a growth of 70%.  In FY19, the home-grown vehicle maker has embarked on ‘Turnaround 2.0’, with three clear objectives – ‘Win Decisively in CV’, ‘Win Sustainably in PV’ and embed the turnaround culture in the organization.

Mr. Girish Wagh, President, CVBU, Tata Motors

CVs on the rise

Tata Motors’ domestic CV sales in May 2018 were at 36,806 units, an increase of 56% compared to 23,606 units in May 2017. The cumulative sales growth of CV in the domestic market for the fiscal (April-May 2018) were at 73,082 units, a growth of 84%, compared to 39,623 units, in the same period last year. Post the Supreme Court ruling on the transition from BS-III to BS-IV, CV sales were affected in Q1 last year as there was a huge pre-buy and also a limited supply of BS-IV vehicles a year ago. In addition, the growth in May 2018 was on the back of various macro-economic factors such as improved industrial activities, infrastructure development and robust demand in the private consumption-led sectors.

The M&HCV truck segment continued its strong growth momentum with 12,424 units, a growth of 90% over last May. This growth has been led by the Government’s focus on infrastructure development, road construction, building of irrigation facilities and housing projects across the country. Additionally, sectors like auto carriers, 3PL players, cement, steel and oil tankers are also driving growth. The SCR technology that Tata Motors had introduced in its M&HCV trucks last year has gained customer confidence and continues to establish its TCO superiority.

The I&LCV truck segment reported a significant performance at 4,106 units, growth of 73% over May 2017. This growth has been driven by new product launches, e-commerce boom and increased rural consumption. Tata Motors’ recently launched Ultra range of ILCV trucks is gaining significant market acceptance and contributing to the volume growth.

The SCV cargo and pickup segments continued their growth momentum too with sales of 15,567 units, up by 47% over May 2017. With the growth in e-commerce sector and the hub-spoke model continuously evolving, SCVs are in demand for last mile connectivity needs across rural and urban markets. The newly-launched Tata Ace Gold has been well received by customers and is seeing strong demand.

The commercial passenger carrier segment posted a growth of 14% with sales of 4,709 units in May 2018. The onset of the annual school season led to a sharp rise in demand for school buses.

The company’s sales from exports, of both CVs and PVs, in May 2018 was at 3,699 units as against 3,900 units in May 2017.

Mr. Girish Wagh, President, CVBU, Tata Motors, said: “In May 2018, our commercial vehicle business continued with strong growth momentum, reporting an increase of 56% over last year. Various macro-economic factors like improved industrial activities, infrastructure development and robust demand in private consumption-led sectors contributed to the growing volumes. The M&HCV segment performed strongly, recording a 90% growth driven by infrastructure development, road construction, building of irrigation facilities in addition to our superior SCR technology that has proven itself and continues to establish its TCO superiority. With Turnaround 2.0 and a clear objective to ‘Win Decisively in CV’, we will continue our efforts to maintain this growth momentum by improving our sales performance across segments.”