Mahindra first choice plans to sell stake to raise Rs.250 crore and other top auto news

A brief round up of the top headlines that dominated the Auto sector, nationally and internationally.

Mahindra First Choice services, the used car services arm of Mahindra & Mahindra, plans to sell a stake to raise up to Rs. 250 crore and invest the proceeds in a startup initiative whereby it plans to aggregate car servicing centres.

Mercedes Benz ruled out using biodiesel to power its cars and other vehicles in India. The German luxury car maker clarified that it never committed any such possibility to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. 

Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra's investment in technology and product development has risen over 16-fold in ten years to touch Rs 1,938 crore in 2015-16. 

Two-wheeler manufacturer Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, said it has appointed Sajeev Rajasekharan as its new Executive Vice President for Sales & After-Sales.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Delhi government’s transport department to deregister diesel vehicles that are more than 10 years old. 

Toyota Innova Crysta is now ready to add a petrol engine in the line-up as the Japanese automaker has now made the new variant available for bookings for a token amount of 1 lakh. 

Auto component manufacturer JBM Auto said it will invest Rs 300 crore for development and manufacturing of electric and hybrid buses in India through its joint venture with Poland's Solaris Bus & Coach.

Bajaj Auto April 2016 sales decline marginally to 3.3 lakh units

Bajaj Auto sales in April 2016 declined 2% YoY to 330,109 units. The sales were marginally below our estimates of 3.42 lakh units.

Motorcycle sales grew 2% YoY to 291,898 units and were in line with our estimates of 2.92 lakh units. Market share gains in the domestic market on back of continued strong demand for new launches (Avenger and V series) led to strong growth in the domestic market ( Domesticmotorcycle sales are estimated to grow by about 39%). Export segment continued to remain under pressure due to weak demand in key markets of Africa and Latin America. Motorcycle exports have dipped by about 38%.

Three wheeler sales declined sharply 24% YoY to 38,211 units and were below our expectations of 50,000 units mainly due to dip in the export markets.

Bajaj AutoLimited	16-Apr	15-Apr	YoY(%)	16-Mar	MoM(%)	FY16	FY15
Motorcycles	291,898	285,791	2.10	264,249	10.50	3,358,252	3,367,938
Three-wheelers	38,211	50,483	-24.30	41,551	-8.00	535,329	528,933
Total Sales	330,109	336,274	-1.80	305,800	7.90	3,893,581	3,896,871

Bajaj Auto Feb sales at 272,719 units

The motorcycle sales were at 235, 282 units YoY, up 9% YoY.

Bajaj Auto Ltd sales stood at 272,719 units in February as against 243,319 YoY.

The motorcycle sales were at 235, 282 units YoY, up 9% YoY.

The scrip opened at Rs. 2262 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 2306.95 and Rs. 2262 respectively. So far 147589(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 65397.62 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2655 on 23-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1913.8 on 30-Apr-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 2409 and Rs. 2173.4 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 49.29 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 26.03 % and 24.66 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Ashok Leyland jumps 3% after Dec sales rises 31%

The company reported December total sales rise 31% yoy to 12,209 units while M&HCV sales were up 35% yoy at 9,758 units. This included growth of 35% in sales of M&HCVs and 18% growth in LCVs to 9,758 units and 2,451 units respectively.

Ashok Leyland jumped 3% to Rs.91.65 on BSE. The company's December total sales rose 31% yoy to 12,209 units while M&HCV sales were up 35% yoy at 9,758 units. This included growth of 35% in sales of M&HCVs and 18% growth in LCVs to 9,758 units and 2,451 units respectively. For the period April to December 2015, total sales grew 36% to 96,518 units over the corresponding period of previous year.

The scrip opened at Rs. 90.2 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 91.95 and Rs. 90.2 respectively. So far 3105129(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 25257.16 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 99.65 on 30-Nov-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 51.1 on 01-Jan-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 90.5 and Rs. 87.65 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 38.82 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 31.69 % and 17.11 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 50 DMA.

Eicher Motors climbs 2.6% after Dec motorcycle sales rises 41%

The company has reported total sales for December 2015 rose 41% to 40453 units compared to 28634 units in December 2014. This included 37475 units of models with engine capacity upto 350 cc and 2978 units of models with engine capacity exceeding 350 cc.

Eicher Motors climbed 2.6% to Rs. 17,801 after the company has reported total sales for December 2015 rose 41% to 40453 units compared to 28634 units in December 2014. This included 37475 units of models with engine capacity upto 350 cc and 2978 units of models with engine capacity exceeding 350 cc. Exports for December 2015 stood at 416 units.

The scrip opened at Rs. 17698 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 17974.45 and Rs. 17550.45 respectively. So far 32488(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 47153.74 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 21618.3 on 21-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 13930 on 27-Apr-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 17690.25 and Rs. 16172 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 54.91 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 31.32 % and 13.77 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA.

Hero Motorcorp December sales dips 5%

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL), the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, clocked 499,665 units of two-wheeler despatches in December 2015.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL), the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, clocked 499,665 units of two-wheeler despatches in December 2015.

The company had sold 526,097 units in December 2014.

The calendar year 2015 marked several milestones in Hero MotoCorp’s journey towards being a global two-wheeler powerhouse.

Maruti gains 1.5%; to invest Rs.15,000 cr on expanding sales-n-service network

The auto company will invest Rs. 15,000 crore over the next five years in procuring land for doubling its dealership network and expanding stockyard, warehouse & transportation infrastructure, Chairman R C Bhargava.

Maruti Suzuki has gained 1.5% to Rs. 4,650 on BSE. The auto company will invest Rs. 15,000 crore over the next five years in procuring land for doubling its dealership network and expanding stockyard, warehouse & transportation infrastructure, Chairman R C Bhargava.

The company is also looking to double its annual sales volume from the current 1.1 million units to 2 million units by 2020.

The scrip opened at Rs. 4580 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 4660 and Rs. 4580 respectively. So far 5,26,177 (NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 138355.66 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 4789 on 23-Nov-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 3250 on 17-Dec-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 4789 and Rs. 4561.15 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 56.21 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 36.52 % and 7.28 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 50 DMA.

Top Auto News of the Day

Apollo Tyres has launched a new tyre in Indian market that promises to run up to 1 lakh kms and beyond. Jointly developed at global R&D centres in Chennai and Netherlands, the tyre Amazer 4G Life is targetted at the mileage conscious customers.

Volkswagen Group's Indian sales arm — Volkswagen Group Sales India has seen three high-profile exits in a span of few weeks. Anil Reddi, director of Porsche brand, Nalin Jain, Group CFO and Niraj Srivastava, head of sales of Audi in India have put in their papers. While Jain and Srivastava put in their papers in June, Reddi stepped down from his position on Tuesday and was immediately relieved. Srivastava has been relieved, Jain is serving his notice period. 

Apollo Tyres has launched a new tyre in Indian market that promises to run up to 1 lakh kms and beyond. Jointly developed at global R&D centres in Chennai and Netherlands, the tyre Amazer 4G Life is targetted at the mileage conscious customers. 

It's not just incessant rains that are flooding the roads this monsoon. Triggered by tumbling demand, luxury-car makers are offering freebies and steep discounts that shave off more than Rs 5 lakh from the price of popular models such as the BMW 5 Series, Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

In an effort to focus on the global strengthening plans of the Royal Enfield brand, Eicher Motors Ltd's MD and CEO Siddhartha Lal said that he will be relocating to London temporarily.

Maruti's August sales rise 27 per cent to 1,10,776 units

The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India  today reported 26.9 per cent increase in its total sales in August at 1,10,776 units as against 87,323 units in the same month of previous year. 

Domestic sales during the month stood at 98,304 units, up 29.3 per cent from 76,018 units in August of previous year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement. 

Sales of mini passenger cars, including Alto, A-Star and WagonR were up 8.3 per cent at 34,686 units as against 32,019 units in the previous year. 

MSI said during the month, sales of its compact cars, comprising Swift, Estilo, Celerio, Ritz and Dzire were at 46,759 units as against 30,512 units in the year-ago month, up 53.2 per cent. 

Dzire Tour sales were at 1,328 units as against 520 units in August last year, up 114.2 per cent. 

Sales of mid-sized sedan SX4 were down by 85.6 per cent to 50 units as against 348 units in August of previous year, the company said. 

The company's sales of utility vehicles, including Ertiga and Gypsy were at 5,491 units as against 4,563 units, up 20.3 per cent. 

Van sales, comprising Omni and Eeco were at 9,990 units as compared to 7,956 units in the previous year, up 25.6 per cent, it said. 

Exports in August were up 10.3 per cent to 12,472 units from 11,305 units in the same month of previous year, it added. 

Tata Motors gains on launching passenger vehicle range in Algeria

Tata Motors has launched its passenger vehicle range in Algeria. The range comprises Tata Indica and Tata Vista from the hatchback range, and Tata Indigo and Tata Manza from the sedans. Moreover, the company has appointed SPA Elsecom for distribution and marketing. The new range is now available in dealerships for sale.

Tata Motors in association with SPA Elsecom has set up dealerships at Algiers and Oran, with further plans underway to establish ten additional sales and service centers, to cover important regions, by the end of this year.

The company has presence in countries across Europe, Latin America, Africa, Russia, Middle East, Asia and lately Australia. Algeria has been ear-marked as a focus market in the Tata Motors global strategy.

Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile company, is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. It is also the world’s fourth largest truck and bus manufacturer.

Tata Motors launches Nano car in Bangladesh market

India's automobile giant Tata Motors has launched its low budget Nano car in Bangladesh, two years after it announced plans to capture the market in the neighbouring country. 

"We are confident that the combination of a perfect product with best-in-the-country service and parts back up will firmly establish the Nano's footprint in Bangladesh," chairman of Tata's sole distributor Tata Niloy Group, Matlub Ahmed, told the Nano's launching ceremony last night. 

Ahmed urged the government to withdraw the 45 per cent supplementary duty on cars under 700 cc so that the Nanos could affordable to low income people at much lesser price. 

Tata Motors introduced the 624cc Nano as a low-cost car in India in 2008 to attract the middle-class people. 

The Nano was scheduled to be launched in Bangladesh three years ago but the pricing issue delayed it.

Tata Motors hits 52-week high on Jaguar Land Rover's July sales data

Tata Motors Ltd rallied over 3 per cent in trade to hit a fresh record high of Rs 501.35 on Monday, after the global auto giant said that sales of luxury brand.
Jaguar Land Rover rose 12.24 per cent to 39,467 units in July, compared to 35,162 units
in the same month last year.
Tata Motors DVR was trading 9.9 per cent higher at Rs 364.75. It also hit a fresh record
high of Rs 364.85 earlier in trade today.
Even though JLR sales rose in the month of July, Tata Motors reported a fall in its global sales by 8.46 per 
cent to 80,151 units in July. The company had sold 87,566 units in the same
month last year.
In the passenger vehicles category, the global sales last month were at 49,001
units, as against 46,684 units in July 2013, up 4.96 per cent, Tata Motors said
in a statement.

Hyundai plans two new car plants in China, instead of one

Hyundai Motor Co plans to remodel a car assembly plant belonging to a Chinese partner, a newspaper reported, a move which could help pave the way for the South Korean automaker to build a separate factory in western China. 

Hyundai, which currently only has factories in eastern China, has said it is keen to build a plant in China's southwestern city of Chongqing which would help it tap growing demand in western parts of the country. 
But it has yet to gain the approval of China's central government, with South Korean media saying that it is under pressure to build a plant in the northeastern province of Hebei. 
Hyundai now plans to remodel a Beijing plant owned by its Chinese partner, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co Ltd, in addition to pursuing its plans with its partner for a factory in Chongqing, said the newspaper report, citing the automaker and the South Korean government. 

Maruti's K-Series engine crosses 25 lakh production milestone

Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India today announced crossing of the 25 lakh production milestone of its K-series petrol engine that powers popular models, including Alto K10, Celerio, Wagon R and Swift. 

The K-series engines were first introduced in India in 2008 in compact car A-Star. The series also power alternate fuel (CNG and LPG) vehicles offered by the company besides popular compact sedan DZire and multi purpose vehicle Ertiga. 

Engine refinement is an ongoing effort and going forward the company's new models will incorporate technologies that further enhance the attributes of high fuel efficiency, low emissions, superior performance and NVH, he added. 

In this fiscal till July, the company has seen a growth of 14.7 per cent in its total sales at 4,01,274 units, compared to 3,49,733 units in same period of previous fiscal. 

The company's domestic sales grew by 12.6 per cent to 3,60,736 units during the period while exports rose by 38.6 per cent to 40,538 units in the ongoing fiscal.

Bosch Q2 net up 21.85 per cent at Rs 306.68 crore

Auto component maker Bosch today posted a 21.85 per cent in its net profit at Rs 306.68 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. 

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 251.68 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. 

Net sales of the company rose 3.61 per cent to Rs 2,354.61 crore during the second quarter.

The company follows the January-December financial year. Overall expenses during the quarter increased 1.15 per cent to Rs 2,052.24 crore, as against Rs 2,028.74 crore in the same period a year ago. 

Bosch shares were trading at Rs 13,772 apiece on the BSE, up 1.63 per cent from its previous close. 

Toyota says April-June net profit up by 4.6% to $5.7 billion

Japanese auto giant Toyota said Tuesday its net profit in the three months through June rose 4.6 per cent to $5.7 billion, largely thanks to cost-cutting and a weak yen. 

The world's biggest automaker said it earned 587.8 billion yen ($5.7 billion) in the quarter, up from 562.2 billion yen a year earlier, as sales rose 2.2 per cent to 6.39 trillion yen. 

The firm said it sold 2.24 million vehicles globally in the quarter, slightly up from a year earlier. 

It kept its annual earnings forecast unchanged, projecting a net profit of 1.78 trillion yen on sales of 25.7 trillion yen for the fiscal year through March 2015. 

The Japanese auto industry has benefited from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to kickstart the long-lumbering economy, with huge monetary easing measures from the premier's hand-picked team at the Bank of Japan helping push down the currency. 

The weaker yen boosts Japanese manufacturers' bottom lines by making them more competitive overseas and inflating repatriated overseas profits. 

Auto stocks edge higher as RBI keeps policy rates unchanged

Seven auto stocks rose by 0.29% to 11.46% at 13:19 IST on BSE in volatile trade after the Reserve Bank of India kept key rates unchanged in its third bi-monthly monetary policy review today, 5 August 2014.

Interest rate sensitive auto stocks rose in volatile trade. TVS Motor Company (up 2.32%),Eicher Motors (up 0.44%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.29%), Tata Motors (up 0.67%), Force Motors (up 11.46%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.09%) edged higher. Purchases of automobiles, including that of cars, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles are substantially driven by financing..

Hero MotoCorp shed 1.29% ahead of its Q1 results today, 5 August 2014.

Bajaj Auto gained 2.1%. A foreign brokerage reportedly upgraded the stock to overweight from equalweight. It said all the bad news appears to be priced in the stock and demand for two-wheelers in India will accelerate to 12 and 12.3% for FY 2015 and FY 2016 as macro factors improve along with new launches.

The BSE Auto index was up 1.03% at 15,719.05 and was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on BSE. It outperformed the Sensex, which was down 0.3% at 25,645.34.

The BSE Auto index had underperformed the market over the past one month till 4 August 2014, falling 3.34% compared with 0.92% fall in the Sensex. The index, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, surging 16.95% as against Sensex's 14.82% rise.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its third bi-monthly monetary policy review today, 5 August 2014, kept policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 8%. It also kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4% of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) and reduced the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks by 50 basis points from 22.5% to 22% of their NDTL with effect from the fortnight beginning 9 August 2014. The RBI also cut the ceiling on debt that must be held-to-maturity (HTM) by half a percentage point to 24%.

Honda to set up world’s largest scooter plant in Gujarat

Honda Motors, which is swearing by scooters in India, is setting up the world's largest scooter plant in Gujarat to roll out 12 lakh units annually and achieve leadership position in the Indian two-wheeler market, especially with a growing number of customers shifting to this unisex multi-utility mode that has caught the fancy of many and outpaced almost every other segment.

Scooter sales have jumped by 29% in the ongoing fiscal, and now form 27% of the total two-wheeler market from just 8% a decade back. The ever-rising demand for scooters that has far outstripped supply has prompted Honda to set up its first dedicated scooter plant in Ahmedabad. "Even as we have more than doubled our scooter capacity in India, we have not been able to match up with the demand. 

The company, which leads the scooter market with a 53% share in the domestic market, would have two assembly lines for scooters, which would create 3,000 more jobs. The fourth plant would enhance its cumulative production capacity in India to 58 lakh units by 2015-16, including 16 lakh from its first plant in Haryana, 12 lakh from the one in Rajasthan, and 18 lakh from the Karnataka plant.


The sales from its Indian subsidiary have already climbed to the second spot for Honda's two-wheeler business worldwide, and it believes that the fourth plant would help India become its top global market. Honda's decision for a dedicated scooter plant is backed by an overwhelming response to its five scooter brands which have been runaway successes in India.

TVS Motor Company rallies over 6% on July sales numbers

 TVS Motor Company Ltd rallied as much as 6.6 per cent in trade on Monday, after the Chennai-based company reported a 32.15 per cent increase in its total sales at 2,03,092 units in July 2014. 

The company had sold 1,53,676 units in the same month last year, TVS Motor Company said in a statement. 

At 09:45 a.m.; TVS Motor Company was trading 3.9 per cent higher at Rs 158.50. It hit a low of Rs 157 and a high of Rs 162.55 in trade today. 

Total two-wheeler sales increased by 32 per cent to 1,94,128 units in July 2014 as against 1,46,671 units in the same month a year ago. 

Domestic two-wheeler sales stood at 1,64,571 units last month, up 30 per cent, from 1,26,531 units in the year-ago period, it added. 

Maruti reports 21.7% increase in total sales for July'14

The company said its domestic sales rose 19.9 percent during the month to 90,093 units as against 75,145 units in July 2013.

ountry's largest car-maker  Maruti Suzuki India  (MSI) today reported 21.7 percent increase in its total sales for July at 1,01,380 units as against 83,299 units in the same month last year. The company said its domestic sales rose 19.9 percent during the month to 90,093 units as against 75,145 units in July 2013.  Maruti Suzuki Q1 net up 21% on volume growth, other income Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto, A-Star and WagonR, declined 14.4 percent to 28,759 units as compared to 33,587 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement. The company said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz rose 81.2 percent to 25,156 units in July this year as against 13,882 units in the same month last year. MSI said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire rose 22.2 percent during the month under review to 18,634 units as against 15,249 units in July 2013. The sales of company's mid-sized sedan SX4 dipped 27.6 percent to 233 units in July as against 322 units in the same month last year. Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, rose 23.4 percent to 5,631 units in July this year from 4,562 units in the corresponding month last year. Sales of vans - Omni and Eeco - increased 54.8 percent to 11,680 units in July this year as compared to 7,543 units in the same month of previous year.