At a time when demand is strong for passenger vehicles, semiconductor shortages are hampering their production. In the month of August, while reporting sales data, leader Maruti Suzuki and M&M did highlight that they are facing chip shortages which are impacting the output and companies are also monitoring the situation on a regular basis as it turns out to be dynamic as of now.

Maruti Suzuki sold 1.3 lakh units in August and M&M sales declined 29% MoM to 30558 units. Maruti Suzuki has already announced that they expect September month production to be 60% below the normal level.

In the passenger vehicle space, Tata Motors managed to sell 54190 units which were a little better than what the street was expecting.

In the tractor segment, the sales were soft because of the seasonal effect which did impact the sales number for M&M and Escorts.

M&M tractor division sales declined 22% on an MoM basis at 21360 units and Escorts sales declined 13% MoM to 5693 units. Escorts did share their optimistic outlook on sales for the festive season on the back of strong farmer sentiment and an increase in enquiry levels.

In the 2-wheeler space, exports helped companies to report good numbers along with the rural recovery which supported the sales.

Bajaj Auto sold 3.7 lakh units and TVS motors sold 2.9 lakh units in the month of August. The commercial vehicle segment is witnessing a gradual recovery every month with improving sales data.

Eicher Motors VECV sold 4793 units that’s 12% up from what the company sold in the month of July and Ashok Leyland sold 9360 units that’s up 8% from what the company sold in the month of July. Going forward rural sales recovery and chip supply will be the factors to watch out for.