Indian auto companies report mixed trend in February domestic sales

Indian auto companies reported a mixed trend in February monthly domestic sales, with Tata Motors and Mahindra reporting growth while the country's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki showing a marginal decline, as per the filing with the bourses on Tuesday.

The February sales figures for Tata Motors grew by 47 percent to 39,981 while Mahindra reported an 80 percent rise to 27,663 units over the corresponding month last year.

However, Maruti Suzuki reported a 6.7 percent drop in February domestic sales to 137,607 units over the same month last year.

"The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles which are primarily sold in domestic market. The Company took all possible measures to minimize the impact." Maruti Suzuki said in its statement.

Commenting on the monthly performance, Veejay Nakra, chief executive officer of the automotive division of Mahindra & Mahindra, said, "We expect demand to continue to remain strong as the COVID-19 situation eases further. We continue to closely monitor the semiconductor related parts supply and take corrective action as appropriate."

Indian auto sales have been marred so far this financial year (April-March) due to price-hikes, pandemic related challenges such as lockdown along with supply chain issues like non-availability of semi-conductors.