PV Demand Momentum Sustains In Mar’22; 2Ws Remain Muted

Passenger vehicles demand remained strong while CV customers turned cautious towards the end of the month led by fuel price hikes, a Motilal Oswal report has said.

"2W retail continued to remain under stress with hopes emanating from the upcoming marriage season and higher funds available to the consumers due to Rabi crop harvesting, according to our interactions with leading industry channel partners," Motilal Oswal has said in a report.

PV dealers remained upbeat on strong demand and improving supplies from OEMs. "M&HCV demand has been benefiting from the rise in infrastructure activities and high capacity utilization; however, fleet operators were cautious while buying due to the recent diesel price hikes.

2 Wheeler sales pick-up

Demand in Mar'22 remained sluggish for 2 wheelers and failed to pick up. "Recent petrol price hike, post-elections, acted as a dampener to the already weak demand. The upcoming marriage season and higher funds available to the consumers due to Rabi crop harvesting could help in reviving demand. Inventory in the system stood at 60-75 days (based on current retail figures). RE supplies continued to be affected adversely by supply-side issues leading to a waiting period on Classic 350 and Meteor. We expect wholesale figures for Bajaj Auto 2Ws to decline 9% YoY, TVS by 5% YoY, and HeroMoto Corp to decline by 27% YoY and RE by 5.5% YoY," the brokerage has said.