Sales reports from automobile manufacturers in India have been released and most of them have a similar story to tell with a massive decline in the numbers. The domino effect happened as the second wave of COVID-19 hit the country hard forcing lockdowns and operational restrictions to be put in place again. Major two-wheeler manufacturers like Royal Enfield, Hero MotoCorp have all reported a dip in sales in the month of May over April when the market had just started to catch on.
Royal Enfield announced on Tuesday that had sold a total of 27,294 units in May, down 49 percent from 53,298 units in April this year. The company’s domestic sales stood at 20,073 units, down 59 percent from 48,789 units in April.
Exports, however, rose to 7,221 units last month as compared with 4,509 units in April, Royal Enfield said in a statement. “Production activity at Royal Enfield plants in Chennai, and retail networks across the country were impacted due to local lockdowns,” it added.
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Hero MotoCorp sold 1,83,044 units in May, down by 51 percent from 3,72,285 units dispatched in April this year. The two-wheeler major had proactively halted operations at all of its manufacturing facilities across the country on 22 April. Three of the plants – located in Gurugram, Haridwar and Dharuhera – resumed single-shift operations on 17 May, followed by the other three located in Neemrana, Halol and Chittoor on 24 May.
Considering this unprecedented situation, the sales volume of May is not comparable with the corresponding month of the previous year and sequential months of this year, Hero MotoCorp noted in a press statement.
The company continues to monitor the situation closely and will move to double-shift production gradually. With the vaccination drive gaining pace and a sharp decline in the number of Covid-positive cases, markets across the country are expected to open up gradually and this would aid in the swift recovery of businesses in the coming weeks, the statement added.
