Mahindra & Mahindra reported flat utility vehicle sales in May despite unveiling the new XUV500, indicating that the success of competitors like Maruti Suzuki’s Brezza may be eating into M&M’s market share.
Total UV sales remained flat in May at 19,295 units compared to 19,331 last year. In comparison, UV sales had jumped 11% to 20,371 in April.
Armed with new models, Maruti Suzuki had recently overtaken M&M as India’s largest SUV maker by volume.
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However, the company saw good momentum on the commercial vehicle side.
Here, medium and heavy vehicle numbers jumped to 1,152 from 438 last year.
This was even better than the performance in April, when sales of medium and heavy CVs had risen to 904 from 278 in the previous year.
However, in nearly every other category, growth slipped in May compared to April.
In light commercial vehicles, for example, May saw a growth of 11% to 16,763 units, while April had seen a 22% jump to 17,495.
Exports, however, were higher at 3,031 units for May versus 1,293 a year ago and 2,880 for April.
“May has relatively been a subdued month compared to April. At Mahindra we have by and large maintained our growth momentum during the month of May 2018, especially in Commercial Vehicles,” claimed Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, M&M Ltd.
He said the strength of the medium and heavy commercial vehicle division was a reflection of the buoyant economy.
“With the forecast of an upcoming normal monsoon we are confident of good growth in the coming months,” he added.
FARM EQUIPMENT
Separately, the company also announced a 16% jump in sales of farm equipment to 29,330, mostly comprising tractors.
This too was lower than the 18% growth seen in April.
Domestic sales were up 16%, while exports jumped 10%.
“We have sold 28 ,199 tractors in the domestic market during May 2018, a growth of 14% over same month last year,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, President – Farm Equipment Sector , Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
“We hope that the announcement of record production estimates for food grains and horticulture crops will drive positive sentiments and boost tractor demand. In the exports market, we have sold 1,131 tractors, a growth of 9% over May 2017.”