Tata Motors Limited said it saw a 5% increase in the number of vehicles sold in India during October, driven by the commercial vehicle segment.
Total sales were at 48,886 units.
However, most of the growth came from light CVs and pick-ups. Both commercial and personal passenger vehicle sales showed a disappointing performance.
On the passenger side, it sold 16,475 vehicles, up only 1% over October 2016.
For the April to October period, the company had seen a passenger vehicle sales growth of 10%.
It however, said there was “continued good performance of new generation vehicles Tiago, Tigor, Hexa and an excellent response received for the newly launched compact SUV, Nexon.”
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Much of the action in October happened in the CV segment, with pick-ups seeing a 45% growth and intermediate and light vehicles seeing a 7% growth. However, passenger carriers saw a decline.
Overall commercial vehicles sales were at 32,411, higher by 7% over October 2016. For the year so far, CVs have grown by 5%.
The medium and heavy trucks segment grew by 8% at 11,391.
“This segment witnessed growth in demand due to increasing acceptance of Tata Motors’ SCR technology, infrastructure development led by government funding and restrictions on overloading creating greater demand for new high tonnage vehicles, especially for new 37T multi-axle trucks and 49T tractor trailers,” Tata Motors said.
The intermediate and light truck segment saw a 7% growth at 3,760 units, driven by the performance of new product introductions.
The pickup segment saw a 45% jump at 5,604 units.
“Tata Xenon Yodha and ACE Mega XL gained acceptance and demand across markets while the SCV cargo segment with sales at 8,413 units, remained flat, over last year,” Tata Motors said.
The passenger carrier (including buses) segment sales were at 3,243, lower by 17%, as the fresh purchase from state governments and the release of permits have been subdued, it said.
“The sales grew on the back of a further ramp-up of production, growing demand for newly launched products and higher customer uptick owing to increased consumption across sectors, coinciding with peak festive season buying trends across segments,” Tata Motors said.
The company’s sales from exports was at 4,311, a decline of 32%, due to continued drop in TIV in Sri Lanka (by 53%) and Nepal (by 46%).