TaMo posts 8% wholesale volumes growth

In an exchange filing, Tata Motors said vehicle sales in the January-March period stood at 361,361 units compared to 334,884 units in the year-ago, including the sale of its luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover.

According to The Financial Times report on 1 April, the rising costs of borrowing exacerbated by the recent turmoil in the banking sector have sidelined some buyers in the US new car market, putting pressure on manufacturers to discount vehicles. “Cars have become increasingly unaffordable after shortages over the past two years forced consumers to pay at or above sticker prices. The US Federal Reserve’s efforts to curb inflation have now driven the average interest rate on a new car or truck loan to 8.95%, up from 5.66% a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive, which provides services to car dealers,” the report said.

At Tata Motors, global wholesales of all commercial vehicles and the Tata Daewoo range fell by 3% to 1,18,321 units in the March quarter from 1,22,147 units a year ago.

However, Tata Motors’ global passenger vehicle dispatches (including electric vehicles), were up by 10% from a year ago in the March quarter to 1,35,654 units.

To be sure, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) contributed almost a third of Tata Motors’ global sales. JLR’s wholesales stood at 1,07,386 units in the quarter. Wholesales for Jaguar were at 15,499, while for Land Rover it was at 91,887 vehicles, the company said.

JLR’s retail sales during the March quarter were at 102,889 units, including for the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China joint venture, with a 21% sequential rise and 30% higher from the year-earlier.

On Thursday, shares of Tata Motors ended 2.6% higher at ₹437.65 apiece on the NSE.