About a month ago, I wrote a report on Tata Motors Ltd., saying it's gaining it's momentum back. (Click here for that report). And the company has managed to post a stellar set of Despatch numbers for the last month of the 2017 calendar, which is normally a slow month for vehicle sales as buyers prefer to purchase a new-year model. Tata Motors despatched a total of 60,820 units during December'17, commercial vehicles & passenger vehicles combined, both Domestic & Exports put together. This is probably the first time the company has crossed the 60,000 units mark in the last few years!! The 12-months average number till November'17 was 47,135.
The star performing segments for Tata Motors are Commercial Vehicles (both M&HCV and LCV) and the Utility Vehicles segment, all recording numbers even higher than March'16 & March'17 numbers. The Cars segment was the only one showing the year-end fatigue, reporting a 16% de-growth Y-o-Y. But Tata Motors will be more than happy with the other 3 key segments firing on all cylinders. Another positive is that even the Export numbers have perked up after a long time. The 12-months average Export number for Tata Motors till November'17 was 4185 units per month. The company exported 6293 units during December'17, which is the highest number since October'16. A pickup is Export numbers, if sustained over the coming few months, will give even more support to the company turnaround efforts.
Coming to the Trailing-Twelve-Months Sales numbers for the different segments, please have a look at the following charts:
The 12-months M&HCV sales number is now just over 1,81,000 units, which is the highest level achieved during this year and is about 3.3% higher than the number at January'17. The 12-months LCV sales number of 2,32,529 is also the highest for the year and is about 9.3% higher than the number at January'17. A good momentum of sales from these segments reflects not just good times for the company's business turnover & profits, but also for the country's economy in general. The Q4 of any fiscal is generally the strongest for CV sales. Hence it will be important to see how the numbers progress for Tata Motors during the next 3 months, especially after a stellar last couple of months.
The sales of Tata Motors' passenger cars reported some de-growth during December'17. Hence we can see the 12-months number dip slightly M-o-M. But have a look at the strong jump in 12-months UV sales numbers, powered by strong demand for both Nexon & Hexa. The number, which is currently at 39,149, should cross the 60,000 mark over the next 4 to 5 months. Remember that the Average Selling Price for a UV is higher than that for a Car. Hence a small dip in Car numbers, coupled with strong growth in UV numbers, will result in stronger position for Tata Motors' Passenger Vehicles division. The combined 12-months volumes for Passenger Vehicles division in January'17 was just under 1,50,000 units. It has now risen to 1,72,000 units and should cross the 2,00,000 units mark in the next 6 to 8 months time. The passenger vehicles division of Tata Motors has been loss making for the company for the last few years, mainly due to dismal capacity utilisation. As the volumes increase, the capacity utilisation improves and will help the company achieve operating break-even soon.
The star performing segments for Tata Motors are Commercial Vehicles (both M&HCV and LCV) and the Utility Vehicles segment, all recording numbers even higher than March'16 & March'17 numbers. The Cars segment was the only one showing the year-end fatigue, reporting a 16% de-growth Y-o-Y. But Tata Motors will be more than happy with the other 3 key segments firing on all cylinders. Another positive is that even the Export numbers have perked up after a long time. The 12-months average Export number for Tata Motors till November'17 was 4185 units per month. The company exported 6293 units during December'17, which is the highest number since October'16. A pickup is Export numbers, if sustained over the coming few months, will give even more support to the company turnaround efforts.
Coming to the Trailing-Twelve-Months Sales numbers for the different segments, please have a look at the following charts:
