The high interest rates and vehicle cost does not seem to have hurt two-wheelers sales at Bajaj Auto, which came out with impressive sales numbers for April, not only year-on-year but month-on-month also.
The company, which recorded its highest ever sales in 2011-12, appears on course to eclipse that performance in the current fiscal if the April 2012 trend continues. The company seems to have shaken off the slowdown blues triggered by the March 2012 decline in sales.
Interestingly, the growth in exports seems to be overtaking growth in domestic sales, at least, in percentage terms.
Bajaj Auto said during April 2012, it sold 3,42,324 two-wheelers, representing a 6 per cent growth over the April 2011 sales of 3,22,235 motor cycles. However, the sale of commercial vehicles took a hit in April this year, falling by 13 per cent to 39,266 units compared to 45,074 units in April 2011.
Total vehicle sales at 3,81,590 was the highest for any April, a 4 per cent growth over that for April last year (3,67,309 units). Of the total vehicle sales, exports jumped to 1,69,010, a 7 per cent increase over the 1,58,422 units exported in the same previous period.
Sales in April this year were 11 per cent higher than the figures for March this year. In March 2012, Bajaj sold 3,00,848 two-wheelers and 34,667 commercial vehicles, taking the total sales to 3,35,515 units.
Its exports have also shown a robust increase — from 1,07,691 units in March 2012 to 1,69,010, an increase of more than 50 per cent!
Apparently, Bajaj Auto seems to have shaken off the impact of the hike in bank interest rates and the increase in vehicle prices due to various factors including input costs and levies. It is not clear whether the sharp decline in the value of the Indian currency compared to the US dollar might have been a reason for the sharp jump in export volume.
During 2011-12, Bajaj Auto exported 15,79,824 units (both two-wheelers and CVs) compared to 12,03,718 units in the previous financial year, a growth of 31 per cent. Exports in 2011-12 accounted for about 30 per cent of the total production volume of 43,49,560 vehicles in that year. But in April 2012, out of 3.81 lakh units produced, 1.69 lakh vehicles were exported, accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the total vehicle production.
If the growth in exports continues during the remainder of the year, which might be possible if the Indian rupee remains weak, exports may nearly match, if not overtake, domestic sales of Bajaj Auto.