Auto stocks rally: Nifty Auto index at all-time high; M&M, Maruti, Ashok Leyland, 3 other stocks hit 52-week highs

Auto stocks were trading higher on Friday, January 2, as the Nifty Auto index touched a record high following strong passenger vehicle wholesales in India in 2025.

The Nifty Auto index gained 1.2% to hit an all-time high of 28,823.20, with 12 out of 15 stocks on the gauge trading in green on Friday. The index has gained over 20% in the last six months, while in 2025 it had rallied 23.4%.

Bosch was the top gainer on the gauge, climbing 3.17%, followed by Hero MotoCorp (2.38%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (1.68%), TVS Motor (1.39%) and Maruti Suzuki (1.38%). Further, shares of Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bharat Forge were also trading higher by 1.29%, 1.09% and 1.05%, respectively.

Shares of Tata Motors PV (0.72%), Exide Industries (0.59%), UNO Minda (0.54%) and Motherson Sumi (0.28%) were also seen in green. Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto (-1.67%), Tube Investments of India (-1.06%) and Eicher Motors (-0.4%) were the only losers.

However, shares of TVS Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, Motherson Sumi and Eicher Motors hit their 52-week high levels on Friday.

Here are the factors behind the auto stocks rally on Friday

The growth in 2025 was led by record annual sales from the likes of market leader Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, and Skoda Auto India, thereby helping the industry beat the previous highest of 43.05 lakh units clocked in 2024.

Home-grown automakers Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles leapfrogged long-time number two player Hyundai Motor India to become the second- and third-largest PV makers by volume in 2025, with the South Korean arm slipping to fourth position.

SUVs continued to enjoy strong traction, going up to 55.8% of total PVs sold in India from 53.8% in 2024, even as small cars showed signs of recovery in the GST 2.0 era.

Maruti Suzuki India clocked wholesale of 18.44 lakh units in 2025, bettering its previous highest of 17.90 lakh units registered in 2024, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Partho Banerjee, said.

The government's flagship production-linked incentive (PLI) Auto scheme has attracted a cumulative investment of ₹35,657 crore and cumulative determined sales of ₹32,879 crore, with 48,974 jobs generated till September this year, the government said on Wednesday.

The PLI Auto scheme covers a performance period from 2023-24 to 2027-28.

For the performance year 2024-25, a total incentive amount of ₹1,999.94 crore has been disbursed for five approved applicants, including Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, TVS Motor Co., and Ola Electric Tech, so far.

Under the scheme, incentives have been provided for 1,042,172 units of electric two-wheelers (e-2W), 238,385 units of electric three-wheelers (e-3W), 79,540 units of electric four-wheelers (e-4W), and 1,391 electric buses (e-buses), the heavy industries ministry said.

Under the PLI Scheme for the Automobile and Auto Components Industry, which has a budgetary outlay of ₹25,938 crore, 82 applications have been approved till November 30.