Auto stocks crash: Bajaj Auto, M&M, Eicher Motors tumble up to 9%; what's hurting the sentiment?

Auto sector heavyweight stocks like Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, among several others, tumbled during the trading session on Thursday, October 1, dragging down the Nifty Auto index over 3% as investors react to the September 2026 sales data release.

NSE data showed that the sectoral benchmark Nifty Auto index lost 3.3% to touch an intraday low of 25,420.65 points during Thursday’s market, in comparison to 26,293.95 points at the previous equity market close.

After touching the intraday low, the index recovered some of its intraday losses, hovering around 25,601.65 points as of the morning market hours on October 1.

Stocks like Bajaj Auto, Bosch, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, TVS Motors, and Tata Motors PV were leading the pack of losers on Thursday’s market.

The subdued monthly vehicle sales data for September 2026, combined along with the benchmark Brent crude oil prices trading around $99 per barrel (bbl), failed to enthuse investors.

Data showed that global energy prices have surged nearly 40% in the last three months, and were trading more than 5% higher in the past one month period.

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Auto sales data for September

Bajaj Auto

As per the latest release, Bajaj Auto’s two-wheeler sales declined 12% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to 2,39,771 units in September 2026, in comparison to 2,73,188 units in the same period last year.

While the domestic sales for two-wheelers declined in the period under review, the company’s export volumes gained 34% to 2,11,723 units, from 1,57,665 units, supporting the overall total sales increase.

In the case of commercial vehicles, Bajaj Auto’s total sales increased to 86,949 units for the segment, in comparison to 79,651 units in September 2025.

Mahindra & Mahindra

Mahindra & Mahindra’s overall auto sales for the month of September 2026 stood at 1,14,874 vehicles, marking a growth of 15% including exports, as per the official release.

The company’s SUV sales data showed a 14% YoY growth to 64,092 units in the period under review, from 56,233 units in the same period the previous year.

However, Mahindra’s total exports declined 7% to 4019 units in September, compared to 4320 units sold in the same period a year earlier.

Eicher Motors

Eicher Motors sales for two-wheelers under 350cc engine capacity surged 13% YoY to 1,21,495 units in September 2026, compared to 1,07,478 units sold in the same period a year earlier.

The company's sales in the above 350cc category declined 26% to 12,463 units, while units sold in the same period a year ago were at 16,850, as per the filing data.

In its international business, Eicher-owned Royal Enfield’s sales increased 17% to 12,632 units in September, compared to 10,755 units in the same period a year earlier.

Eicher Motors reported that VE Commercial Vehicles’ (VECV) total sales increased 49.6% to 11,396 units in September 2026, compared with 7,619 units a year earlier.

Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki’s total sales increased 24.43% to 2,36,013 units in September 2026, from 1,89,665 units in the same period a year earlier.

The data further showed that Maruti Suzuki’s total sales in the period included domestic sales of 185,252 units, sales to other OEMs of 6,542 units and exports of 44,219 units.

Tata Motors PV

NSE filings showed that Tata Motors PV’s total sales increased 15% YoY to 70,210 units in September 2026, compared to 60,907 units sold in September 2025.

Both the company’s domestic and international sales increased in the month under review.

“In Q2 FY27, passenger vehicle demand sustained the strong momentum seen following GST 2.0, despite the quarter being seasonally softer,” said Shailesh Chandra, MD and CEO of Tata Motors PV.