Bajaj Auto, one of India’s biggest two- and three-wheeler makers, reported relatively strong auto sales numbers for August.
Total sales came in at 4.37 lakh, up 30% over 3.35 lakh in August last year.
Growth was led by exports, even as the floods in Kerala dampened domestic growth slightly.
Total exports for the month was up 35% at 1.81 lakh. Out of this, two-wheeler exports comprised 1.44 lakh, and were up 29%. This marks an acceleration over the previous four months.
Three-wheeler exports were at around 37,000 — up 67% — and set a record for the highest ever exports in a single month.
Exports accounted for nearly half of the 74,169 commercial vehicle sales in the month.
Exports have been strong since the beginning of this year. With the latest numbers, total exports for first five months of the current year are up 33%.
DOMESTIC
The growth in the domestic market saw a deceleration during August, possibly due to the floods in Kerala that disrupted sales in a strong festive month.
Total sales in India rose by 27% in August to 2.56 lakh, compared to the 35% jump seen in exports.
The 27% figure is a climb down from the nearly 39% growth seen in domestic sales this year before August.
With the August numbers in, the total growth in domestic sales has declined to 36% for the first five months.
Within domestic sales, two-wheelers were up 27% in August (vs about 35% in the previous four months on average), and CVs were up 28% (vs about 77% for the previous four months).
