M&M, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki: Auto stocks rally, NIFTY Auto rises 2%; top factors to know

Auto stocks were rallying on Wednesday, July 1, led by gains in Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Maruti Suzuki, and Ashok Leyland, following sales numbers from carmakers, pushing the NIFTY Auto index up 2%.

After opening at the 26,585.15 level on Wednesday, the NIFTY Auto index rose to a day’s high of 26,965.45, outperforming the NIFTY50 index, while it touched an intraday low of the 26,585.15 level.

At the time of writing the article, all the other stocks were trading higher, except for Bharat Forge (-1.35%), Samvardhana Motherson International (-0.25%), and Tata Motors PV (-0.09%).

Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest contributor, rising 3%, followed by Ashok Leyland (2%), Maruti Suzuki (1.94%), Bajaj Auto (1.55%), and Hero MotoCorp (1.52%).

Shares of Bajaj Auto were gaining as the company’s share buyback opened on Wednesday. The company is undertaking a buyback of up to 46.94 lakh fully paid-up equity shares of face value of ₹10 each at a price of ₹12,000 per share, payable in cash, for an aggregate amount of up to ₹5,632.8 crore. The issue will close on July 7, 2026.

Auto sales numbers

Market investors are closely tracking the auto sales numbers for the month of July.

Furthermore, M&M shares surged on Wednesday as the auto major’s overall June 2026 auto sales stood at 1,06,207 vehicles, reflecting a 37% growth, including exports.

In the utility vehicle (UV) segment, M&M sold 60,393 vehicles in the domestic market, up 28% YoY, and overall, 61,504 vehicles, including exports. The domestic sales for commercial vehicles (CV) stood at 26,076, up 35%.

According to Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO, Automotive Division, M&M, “In June we achieved SUV sales of 60,393 units and LCV < 3.5T segment sales of 26,076 units, delivering robust growth of 28% and 35%, respectively. The total vehicle sales stood at 1,06,207, a 37% YoY growth reflecting all-round demand traction across the portfolio.”

Nifty Auto vs NIFTY50

In the last three months, the NIFTY Auto has significantly outperformed the benchmark NIFTY50 index.

Data showed that the NIFTY Auto index has gained 11% in the last three months, while the NIFTY50 has risen 6% over the same period.

The sectoral index has delivered investors 3.7% returns in the past one month and nearly 2% gains in a week on NSE. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 index has risen 2.7% in the last one month while it has slipped 0.1% in the past one week.

Last month, ICRA had said that it expects the Indian passenger vehicle industry to witness 4–6% volume growth in FY2027, supported by sustained demand momentum, improving affordability following GST rate cuts, and continued traction in utility vehicles.

The ratings agency had said that electric vehicle adoption has strengthened, with EV penetration in the passenger vehicle segment rising to nearly 6% in early FY2027. “Despite positive demand fundamentals, rising fuel and commodity prices, along with concerns around a weak monsoon impacting rural sentiment, remain key factors to watch,” ICRA had said.