Covid-19 impact: TVS Motor domestic two-wheeler sales down 62% in March

TVS Motor reported a 62 per cent drop in domestic two-wheelers to 94,103 units this March, from 247,694 units a year ago. Total two-wheeler sales, including exports, declined 56.9 per cent to 133,988 units in March 2020 from 310,885 units last year.

Motorcycles sales at 66,673 units this year were less than half those, at 141,086 units, a year. Scooter sales were down 65.3 per cent to 34,191 units from 98,477 units a year ago.

Sales across categories were down 55.5 per cent to 144,739 units in March 2020, from 325,323 units in March 2019.

"There has been a huge impact on the company’s production and sales this month because of the Covid-19 lockdown across the country. TVS Motor Company launched attractive and feature rich BS VI versions of its entire portfolio. These have been well received and there are adequate stocks already in the market when it reopens. International demand for both two-wheelers and three-wheelers was good. However, due to the lockdown, there was a significant loss in production, and also vehicle stock in the factory for both domestic and international markets, which could not be dispatched," said the company.

The company began the transition to BS VI in Q3 of FY20 in a move that has helped it become completely ready to supply these vehicles in Q4. The firm and its dealers have retailed almosy all BS IV vehicles and the company is now getting set to fully focus on its BS VI range once the market opens.

Exports stood at 50,197 units in March 2020 as against 76,405 units in March 2019. Two-wheeler shipments stood at 39,885 units this year as against 63,191 units in March 2019.

During the fourth quarter of the current financial year, two-wheeler sales dropped to 590,000 units from 866,000 units in the same quarter a year ago. Three-wheeler sales rose 3 per cent from 41,000 units in Q4 last year to 43,000 units in the fourth quarter of the current year.

During 2019-20, the company's two-wheeler sales dropped 3.09 million units from 3.76 million units in 2018-19. Three-wheeler sales were up 11 per cent from 156,000 units in FY19 to 174,000 lakh units in FY20.