COVID second wave disrupts CV sales

The second wave of COVID-19 has started to leave its mark on vehicle sales. While, for many OEMs the year-on-year April sales would appear positive, given there was hardly any sales in April 2020 due to a nation-wide lockdown, most companies have seen sales decline in April 2021 as compared to March 2021, notes Rajesh Rajgor

- Rajesh Rajgor

The CV OEMs are back under pressure as sales have sharply fallen in April’21 after signs of revival in the first three months of the calendar year. While for many OEMs the year-on-year April sales would appear positive, given there was hardly any sales in April 2020 due to a nationwide lockdown, most companies have seen sales decline in April 2021 as compared to March 2021.

Tata Motors’ domestic commercial vehicle sales stood at 14,435 units in April’21 compared to 36,955 in March’21, falling sharply by 61 percent. The company’s total domestic sales across all categories in April’21 stood at 39,530 units compared to 66,609 units in March’21.

For Ashok Leyland, sales were down by 50.51 percent month on month for Ashok Leyland, which registered sales figures of 7,961 units in April’21 compared to 15,761 in March’21. The company’s April sales included 3,803 M&HCV trucks, 180 M&HCV buses, and 3,978 LCVs.

VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) recorded sales of 2,145 units in April 2021 (YTD 2,145 units) as compared to 85 units in April 2020 (LYTD 85), recording a growth of 2423.5% (YTD growth 2423.5 %). This includes 2,096 units of the Eicher brand and 49 units of the Volvo brand.