The commercial vehicle wholesales in India for July have seen flat growth, barring the HD (heavy-duty) truck segment. In July, the overall commercial vehicle wholesales came at 71,632 units, which was 2 percent higher YoY, but down 4 percent compared to the previous month. The degrowth is primarily on account of seasonal demand.
The country’s largest truck maker Tata Motors reported flat wholesales at 31,216 units compared to 31,473 units sold last July. The HCV and passenger carrier segment with sales of 8,502 units and 4,292 units, grew 14 percent and 24 percent respectively. But compared to the previous month, it was lower by 12 and 11 percent respectively.
Ashok Leyland was the only commercial vehicle manufacturer to see its YoY performance in the green with wholesales of 14,207 units, up 12 percent. The sales were primarily driven by the HD truck and M&HCV bus segments, which saw YoY growth of 19 percent and 56 percent respectively. On the other hand, the LCV sales while in the red on a YoY basis, witnessed good growth compared to the previous month, thus helping overall numbers to see only a marginal dip.
Mahindra & Mahindra sales too saw a marginal dip on a YoY basis and are flat compared to June. In July, the company’s CV wholesales came at 20,898 units, compared to 20,946 units sold a year ago.
Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV), too witnessed a marginal decline with wholesales of 5,311 units, compared to 5,360 units sold a year ago. The company too saw a slight improvement in demand for its HD trucks and HD buses.
Sruthi Thomas, Assistant VP & Sector Head – Corporate Ratings, ICRA said, “The commercial vehicle industry (five major listed CV OEMs) wholesale volumes in July 2023 reported a marginal expansion of 2 percent on a YoY basis with the gradual correction in availability of BS 6.2-compliant vehicles. However, the volumes contracted by 4 percent sequentially from June 2023 levels, as is typical during the seasonally weak monsoon period, when construction activity slows down. Overall, for 4M FY2024 (April-July 2023), the industry has witnessed a marginal YoY contraction of 2 percent in wholesale volumes. While the ongoing quarter volumes are expected to remain subdued on account of the monsoon, volumes are expected to revive subsequently supported by stable macroeconomic situation, and as construction activity picks up.”
Going forward, all eyes will be on the improvement in the demand for M&HCV, and Heavy-Duty trucks & buses. Furthermore, while the macroeconomic conditions remain positive, OEMs will keep a close eye on the further slowdown in wholesales that may indicate some underlying challenges.
| Company and Segment | July ’23 | July ’22 | Change (in units) | Change (in %) | June ’23 |
| YoY | YoY | ||||
| Tata Motors | |||||
| HCV Trucks | 8,502 | 7,473 | 1,029 | 14% | 9,625 |
| ILMCV Trucks | 4,899 | 5,524 | -625 | -11% | 4,723 |
| Passenger carriers | 4,292 | 3,454 | 838 | 24% | 4,810 |
| SCV Cargo and Pickup | 13,523 | 15,022 | -1,499 | -10% | 13,990 |
| Total | 31,216 | 31,473 | -257 | -1% | 33,148 |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | |||||
| LCV < 2T | 3,400 | 3,693 | -293 | -8% | 3,063 |
| LCV 2 T – 3.5 T | 16,503 | 16,445 | 58 | 0% | 16,735 |
| LCV > 3.5T + M&HCV | 995 | 808 | 187 | 23% | 1,161 |
| Total | 20,898 | 20,946 | -48 | 0% | 20,959 |
| Ashok Leyland | |||||
| M&HCV Trucks | 7,834 | 6,596 | 1,238 | 19% | 7,980 |
| M&HCV Bus | 1,140 | 733 | 407 | 56% | 1,294 |
| LCV | 5,233 | 5,386 | -153 | -3% | 5,089 |
| Total | 14,207 | 12,715 | 1,492 | 12% | 14,363 |
| Volvo Eicher CV | |||||
| LD & LMD Trucks (3.5-18.5-tonne) | 2,759 | 2,709 | 50 | 2% | NA |
| HD Trucks | 1,369 | 1,365 | 4 | 0% | NA |
| LMD Bus | 1,028 | 1,183 | -155 | -13% | NA |
| HD Bus | 155 | 103 | 52 | 50% | NA |
| Total | 5,311 | 5,360 | -49 | -1% | 6,277 |
| Grand Total | 71,632 | 70,494 | 1,138 | 2% | 74,747 |
