Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp lead gains in Nifty Auto basket as investors cheer sales data; Tata Motors flat

Automobile stocks were in demand on the exchanges during Monday’s session as most of these companies announced robust sales figures for March 2023 as well as for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) on Saturday.

Stocks such as Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, and others were among the top gainers on the Nifty50 index today. Similarly, 13 of 15 stocks on Nifty Auto are in the green, making the index the top gainer among sectors, up over 1 per cent on the NSE.

Individually, Hero MotoCorp shares jumped most by over 2.5 per cent, followed by Maruti Suzuki up around 2.5 per cent and Ashok Leyland rose more than 2 per cent intraday on the NSE.

Hero MotoCorp reported a 15 per cent rise in total sales at 5,19,342 units for March 2023 against 4,50,154 units in March 2022. Whereas Maruti Suzuki reported their highest-ever dispatches to dealers last fiscal, enabling the domestic passenger vehicle industry to log in the best-ever performance to date.

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Meanwhile, other counters from Auto Index such as Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), and TVS Motor Company were each up between 1-2 per cent on the NSE.

Tata Motors' stock was flat with a positive bias during today’s session. The company on Saturday said its total domestic wholesales increased by 3 per cent to 89,351 units in March compared to the same month last year.

Besides auto manufacturers, auto ancillary scrips like Sona Comstar, Samvardhana Motherson and Bosch also gained on Monday amid cascading effects and a better sectoral outlook going ahead.

MRF and Balkrishna Industries were the only losers among Auto stocks today.

As per Motilal Oswal, the overall dispatches were better than expected for two-wheelers (2Ws) and commercial vehicles (CVs) while the numbers were in line for passenger vehicles (PVs) and tractors.

The brokerage said, “Volume growth for March 2023 indicated healthy demand during the festive season followed by higher dispatches before BS6-II transition.”

“Domestic dispatches of 2Ws continue to improve but broad-based recovery is yet to happen. Exports of 2Ws improved MoM. MHCV dispatches were above estimate led by strong demand from underlying industries and heavy pre-buying before BS6-II transition,” Motilal Oswal said in its report.

PV dispatches were largely flat YoY indicating moderation in demand momentum and tractors reported YoY growth despite weak agri sentiments due to erratic rainfall in key regions, it also said.

Auto majors such as M&M, Ashok Leyland, and Bajaj Auto are expected to release their March sales figures today.

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