Tractors, two-wheelers lead auto sales in February; PVs struggle, Tata Motors lags

Shares of auto companies were largely trading lower on Monday, March 4, as the sales in February for most of the listed players remained mixed in February. The Nifty Auto index, the measure of 15 automobile and auto-ancillary companies, declined 0.35% or 72 points to 20,427, at 11:12 am.

Twelve out of 15 stocks in the index were trading lower dragged down by Ashok Leyland's 2.62% decline. Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India and Tata Motors were also trading with a negative bias.

The country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, reported sales of 1,99,400 units in February as against sales of 1,97,471 units in the same month last year.

Sale of mini and compact segment cars which comprises models such as Alto, S-Presso, Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift and WagonR remained a pain point for the company as the annual sales declined 3.75% at 83,168 units in February raising concerns about slowdown in sales of entry level cars.

On the other hand, sales of utility vehicles (UVs) including Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny and XL6 showed an increase of 6.2% to 65,033 units. Maruti Suzuki's export sales declined 13.5% annually to 25,021 units.

Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) saw strong performance in its UV segment, with sales rising 19% annually to 50,420 units, reflecting sustained momentum in its SUV models. On the flipside, Hyundai's domestic sales declined 5% annually but its exports rose 7%.

Tata Motors remained an underperformer in February as its passenger vehicle sales declined 9% to 77,232 units and commercial vehicle sales fell by 8% to 30,797 units, reflecting slowdown in the CV space.

Tractor sales surge ahead of harvest season

Tractor sales, one of the key benchmarks to gauge the health of the rural economy, was a silver lining for M&M and Escorts Kubota. For M&M, domestic sales in February 2025 came in at 23,880 units, as against 20,121 units during February 2024.

"Total tractor sales (Domestic + Exports) during February 2025 were at 25,527 units, as against 21,672 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month stood at 1,647 units," the company said in a press release.

M&M and Escorts both sounded optimistic about the future of tractor sales citing a good Kharif crop and favourable outlook for the Rabi crop.

“We have sold 23,880 tractors in the domestic market during February 2025, a growth of 19% over last year. After a good Kharif crop, Rabi crop outlook is also looking positive due to favourable weather conditions. Increase in Agri credit limit, continued Government support to increase farmer incomes and a bumper Rabi harvest will help boost tractor demand going forward. In the exports market we have sold 1647 tractors, at a growth of 6% over last year,” said Hemant Sikka, President – Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Escorts Kubota’s total sales rose 11.4% to 8,590 units the management sounded bullish on the growth of tractor space and said, "Going forward, with increased Rabi sowing, good water reservoir levels and favourable base effect, we anticipate growth momentum to continue in coming months."

Two-wheeler sales: Royal Enfield outperforms in February

Royal Enfield (RE) delivered a strong performance in February, with sales rising 19% to 90,670 units on the back of 19% domestic and 23% export growth.

Similarly, TVS Motor reported a 10% annual growth in two-wheeler volumes. The company sold a total of 4,03,976 units in February. Domestic sales grew 4% year-on-year (YoY), while exports surged 26%. Motorcycles and scooters saw 5% and 24% YoY growth, respectively, whereas moped sales declined 17%.

The company's three-wheeler (3W) volumes also rose by 14% YoY.

On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp underperformed, posting a 17% YoY decline in sales at 3,88,068 units .

Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto showcased muted performance in February with its domestic sales rising 2% to 2,99,418 units. The exports for two-wheelers showcased strong performance with a surge of 23% to 1,53,280 units.