Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors PV, M&M: Auto stocks gain; what analysts said after May sales numbers

Most of the auto stocks were trading in green on Tuesday, June 2, a day after all the companies posted their May sales numbers.

Carmakers witnessed healthy growth in May, with Maruti Suzuki and Kia India registering record sales, carrying forward the momentum witnessed at the beginning of the new fiscal.

Maruti Suzuki India on Monday reported its highest-ever monthly sales, with domestic sales of 193,535 units in May 2026, compared to 138,690 units in the year-ago month. The company's total passenger vehicle sales in May stood at 190,337 units as against 135,962 units in the same month last year, excluding commercial vehicles.

The impressive show by Maruti Suzuki could be due to the impending price hike by up to ₹30,000 announced by the automaker from June 2026.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles' sales in the domestic market stood at 59,090 units last month as against 41,557 units in the year-ago period, a growth of 42%.

Meanwhile, homegrown player Mahindra & Mahindra sold 58,021 units in the domestic market, up 11% from the year-ago period. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported a 9.1% year-on-year increase in domestic sales at 47,837 units in May 2026.

Among others, Toyota Kirloskar Motor's domestic sales stood at 30,574 units in the reported month against 29,280 units in the same month a year ago, registering a four per cent YoY growth. JSW MG Motor India saw sales of 6,048 units in May 2026. The company, however, did not provide comparable year-on-year figures.

Here’s what analysts said

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analysts noted that retail sales in India’s auto sector remained healthy in May 2026 across passenger vehicles, two-wheelers, light commercial vehicles and tractors. Passenger vehicle and two-wheeler retail sales grew 27% and 11% year-on-year, respectively, while tractor retail sales rose 16%. However, growth in medium and heavy commercial vehicles moderated to 6% year-on-year, with fleet operators facing pressure from higher input costs and diesel prices.

The analysts also highlighted improving electric vehicle penetration, with electric two-wheeler share rising to 9.2% in May from 7.9% in April, and passenger vehicle EV share increasing to 6.4% from 5.9%. They added that Mahindra flagged supply chain constraints due to manpower shortages at select suppliers, which may have limited potential growth by around 10% in utility vehicles and light commercial vehicles.

Going ahead, they see isolated supply headwinds, rising commodity costs and price hikes as key factors to monitor.

Nomura

Analysts at Nomura said that India’s auto sector continued to see healthy growth in two-wheelers and passenger vehicles, while commercial vehicles remained relatively slow. They also noted that growth momentum in the tractor segment stayed strong during the period.

The analysts added that most OEMs have indicated cost pressures of around 300–400 basis points in Q1 FY27E. They further stated that electric vehicles are at an inflection point, with supportive government policies likely to continue aiding EV sales.

HSBC

HSBC analysts said that passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle retail volumes remained sustained, supported by resilient demand, although the near-term outlook continues to remain uncertain.

They noted that a recent fuel price hike has renewed demand for electric vehicles, with electric two-wheeler penetration rising to 9.3% and electric four-wheeler penetration to 6.6%. The analysts also added that commodity spot levels for two- and four-wheelers are up 14% and 13% compared to Q4 levels, indicating continued margin pressure.

Auto stocks

After opening at the 25,595.05 level on Tuesday, the Nifty Auto index rose to a day’s high of 26,014.80 while it touched an intraday low of the 25,581.15 level. The gauge was up 0.61%.

Over a month’s time, the Nifty Auto index has advanced 0.5%, while on a year-on-year basis, the index has jumped 12%.

At the time of writing the article, except for Bharat Forge (-1.33%) and Bajaj Auto (-0.24%), all the other stocks were trading higher.

Exide Industries was the biggest gainer, rising 1.99%, followed by Samvardhana Motherson International (1.69%), Hero MotoCorp (1.24%), Bosch (1.12%), and Tube Investments of India (1.01%).

Further, Mahindra & Mahindra (0.91%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (0.87%), TVS Motors (0.7%), Eicher Motors (0.65%) and Tata Motors PV (0.51%) were seen higher. Shares of Maruti Suzuki, Uno Minda, and Ashok Leyland were up 0.46%, 0.43% and 0.15%, respectively.