Domestic CV industry remains muted with 4.3% YoY wholesale volume growth in May 2024 

The domestic wholesale commercial vehicle (CV) volumes remained muted in May 2024, as expected (due to ongoing elections), witnessing a growth of 4.3% year-on-year (YoY), while reporting flat sequential volume growth of 0.1% for the month.

The volume movement was impacted to an extent, due to the perceived slowdown in the construction activities with the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct for the General Elections 2024, as per Kinjal Shah, Senior Vice President and and Co-Group Head - Corporate Ratings, ICRA. 

The rating agency's comments should be seen with the sales numbers provided by some of the leading OEMs dealing in commercial vehicles. 

For instance, Mumbai-based Tata Motors’ domestic commercial vehicle wholesales grew by 3 % to 28,476 units during April  2024, in comparison with a similar period last year, when it registered 27,570 units. As per the data released by the company, HCV registered a 3% decline, with 7924 units sold during May  2024 as against 8160 units sold during May  2023. Intermediate, light, and medium commercial vehicle (ILMCV) trucks, on the other hand, reported 4478 unit sales in May 2024—a jump of 30% as against 3450 units in May 2023. Passenger carriers recorded 4737 unit sales in May 2024 as against 3874 units in May  2023, which is a gain of 22 %. The small commercial vehicle (SCV) cargo and pickup segment registered a drop of 6 % to 11,337 units in May  2024  when compared with 12,086  units in May 2023. 

Chennai-based Ashok Leyland, on the other hand, reported a 12% jump in its whole sales at 13,852 units during May 2024, as against 12,378 units in May 2023. 
The M&HCV trucks segment went up by 1% to 6648 units during May 2024, as against 6573 units in May 2023. Likewise, in the MHCV  buses segment, the company witnessed an 87% surge to 1903 units in May 2024, versus compared to 1017 units in May last year. In the LCV category, the company witnessed a growth of 11% to 5301 units in May  2024, as against 4788 units in the comparable period.

Likewise, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the Mumbai-based automotive major, reported a significant jump in the LCV category weighing more than 3.5 tonnes, including medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV), with wholesales jumping by 90% YoY in May 2024. The increase in other categories was relatively moderate or even negative. 

According to the data provided by M&M, the sales of vehicles in the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) category weighing less than 2 tonnes experienced a jump of 8% to 3156  units in May  2024, compared to 2913 units in May  2023. However, there was a negative  growth trend observed in the LCV category, weighing between 2 and 3.5 tonnes. Sales in this category saw a drop  of 12% to 13781 units in May  2024, compared to 15631 units in November 2022. Moving on to the LCV category weighing more than 3.5 tonnes, including medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV), the sales figures showed a growth of 90%. In May 2024, 2889 units were sold, compared to 1518 units in May 2023.