India - Commercial Vehicle Sector - December 2021
India - Commercial Vehicle Sector - December 2021
India - Commercial Vehicle Sector - December 2021
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India – Commercial
Vehicle Industry
December 2021
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Table of Contents
List of Charts
Chart 1: Sequential growth in GDP at constant prices (in %) .................................................................7
Chart 2: Y-O-Y growth in IIP (in %) ................................................................................................... 11
List of Figures
List of Tables
1. Economic Outlook
The growth in global GDP in H1 CY2021 was broadly according to the expectations and outruns for first
quarter global GDP were stronger than expected due to continued resumption of economic activities
coupled with policy support from the government. However, the momentum weakened in the second
quarter due to spike in Covid-19 cases in several emerging and developing economies and consequent
disruptions in supply.
After a negative growth of 4.5% in CY2020, advanced economies group is projected to grow by 5.2% in
CY2021. IMF revised down its forecast from 5.6% made in July 2021 largely due to downgrade made for
United States on the back of large inventory drawdowns in Q2 CY2021, in part reflecting supply disruptions
and softening consumption in the third quarter of CY2021. The projections for United States subsequently
incorporate the infrastructure bill recently passed by the Senate and anticipated legislation to strengthen
the social safety net, equivalent to about $4 trillion in spending over the next 10 years.
Similarly, projections were downgraded for Germany and Japan to 3.1% and 2.4% respectively. For
Germany, it was partly due to shortages of key inputs weighing on manufacturing output and for Japan it
was attributed to the effect of the fourth State of Emergency imposed from July to September as Covid-19
infections hit a record level in the current wave. Overall, across the advanced economies group, the forecast
for CY2022 has been revised upwards from 4.4% to 4.5% in World Economic Outlook – October, 2021
release based on stronger rebound expected in H1 of CY2022 due to higher vaccine rollouts.
In the global economies, the recovery is strengthening due to health protections such as widespread
vaccinations which is an effective bulwark against the pandemic. Along with this, monetary policy
normalization from central banks has also been as a recovery measure.
IMF highlighted in its report that the economic recovery is highly dependent on vaccine access across
regions, hence economies will witness diverging recovery rates which may not remain steady as long as
people are exposed to the virus and its emerging variants. Close to 58% of the population is vaccinated in
the advanced economies while only around 36% of the population is vaccinated in the emerging economies
and less than 5% of population is vaccinated in low income group. In these economies, vaccine supply and
distribution remain the primary issue. Hence, speeding up the vaccination of the world population remains
the top policy priority, while continuing the push for widespread testing and investing in therapeutics. This
would help save millions of lives and also aid in preventing the emergence of new variants thereby
hastening the global economic recovery.
30
22.31
20
9.94 10.36
7.51
10
0
Q1 2020-21 Q1 2020-21 Q1 2020-21 Q1 2020-21 Q2 2021-22 Q2 2021-22
%
-10
-16.9
-20
-29.69
-30
-40
Quarter
The nominal GDP has grown by 17.6% from Q2 FY22 and is 8.4% higher than the previous quarter. The
high growth here is reflective of the price pressures across the various goods and services in the economy.
Even though, the elevated growth rates over year ago largely reflects the sharp contraction the country’s
economy suffered last year, the annual as well as sequential improvement suggests that the domestic
economy is on the path to recovery.
Even though the domestic economy the Indian Economy has come off the record decline of last year, it is
yet to surpass pre-pandemic level in a meaningful manner.
When compared with the pre-pandemic period i.e., Q2 FY20, the GDP in Q2 FY22 is only marginally
higher by 0.3%.
There are increasing signs of higher level of activity across sectors. This has given rise to optimism that
the recovery in the domestic economy is strengthening. Even if the pace of recovery is sustained in the
next two quarters, India’s GDP for the year is expected to be only marginally higher than that in FY20 (by
around 2%).
Demand and investments are yet to see a meaningful and durable pick-up. Improvements in these are
expected to be limited and gradual given that even before the pandemic, the domestic economy was
grappling with low demand and subdued investment climate. To add to this, domestic and external
challenges and uncertainties still abound. The rise in price levels and the underlying threat from new
variants of the Covid virus and the associated challenges of on-and -off restrictions and lockdowns could
be a set-back / challenge for domestic as well as global recovery.
Given the uncertainties associated with the scale of economic recovery, the RBI is expected to be maintain
its growth focus and continue with the accommodative monetary policy stance even as it moves towards
gradual normalization of support.
As per CareEdge Ratings Economic Research Report, economic activity is expected to attain and surpass
pre-pandemic level from Q3 FY22 onward, hence the GDP growth for the FY 22 made is estimated at 9.1%.
As per RBI’s fifth bi-monthly monetary policy for 2021-22, The RBI highlighted downside risks to the growth
outlook – on account of the emergence of Omicron Variant and consequent renewed surge in Covid-19
infections across countries globally.
To add to this there are headwinds from elevated global commodity prices, potential volatility in global
financial markets with faster normalization of monetary policy in advanced economies and prolonged global
supply bottlenecks.
In terms of quarterly growth, it has revised downward the GDP growth projections for Q3 and Q4 of FY22
from its earlier estimates of October’21 (by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively). The Q1 FY22 growth estimate
too has been left unchanged at 17.2% and it has pegged Q2 FY23 GDP growth at 7.8%
• There has been a broad-based year-on-year growth across all the sectors in Q2 FY22 driven by the low
base of year ago.
• Barring agriculture and mining all the other key sectors have in the latest quarter witnessed growth over
Q1 FY22.
• When compared with the pre-pandemic period i.e., Q2 FY20, the output of the service sector viz., trade,
hotel, transport & communication and finance, real estate & professional services have been lower
• GVA in Q2 FY22 grew by 7.9% on a sequential basis, following the contraction of 13% in the preceding
quarter.
o Industry (30% of GVA) as well as the services (58% of GVA) sector were the drivers of economic
output during the quarter.
o The industrial sector grew 6% on a sequential basis and by 7% on an annual basis. Manufacturing
followed by construction were the driver for growth in industry. Manufacturing output grew by 8%
while construction GVA was 9% higher than Q1 FY22.The higher manufacturing output can be
linked to the festive period demand for manufactured goods that prompted higher levels of
production during August September. The pick-up in construction can be linked to the easing of
restrictions and the focus on infrastructure by the government.
o The contraction in the agriculture sector on a quarterly basis (by 16% in Q2 FY22) is reflective of
the impact the unfavourable weather conditions prevalent during the quarter that led to loss of
output.
o The service sector output in the latest quarter was 16% higher than Q1 FY22 and 10% more than
a year ago. All the sub-segments of the service sector witnessed strong growth in Q2 FY22
following the contraction of the preceding quarter. The easing of restriction has led to a fast
rebound in this sector. The output of the sector however is yet to attain pre-pandemic levels.
Electricity, gas, water supply & 1.7 2.3 8.9 8.9 5.2
other utility services
Construction 1.0 -7.2 7.5 -0.3 8.7
Services 8.2 -11.4 10.2 -2.4 16.2
Growth in industrial output remained unchanged at 3.2% in October’21 compared with 3.1% in the previous
month. Negative growth in the capital and consumer goods segment has restricted the growth in overall
industrial output. Weakening of the base has contributed to slowing momentum in industrial activity from
the double-digit growth witnessed during the first five months of FY22. Sequential momentum in industrial
activity accelerated by 4.3% during the month. Output in all sectors witnessed an improvement over the
previous month except electricity, capital goods and consumer goods segment.
The IIP growth has witnessed a moderation over the past two months on account of base normalisation.
Companies are expected to ramp up output amid strengthening demand scenario which is expected to
support manufacturing growth in the near term. Performance of the mining sector is expected to pick-up
with resumption of mining activities that were impacted by extended monsoons. Thus, we could expect
industrial output to gather momentum in the coming months, however, it would continue to be subdued
with the waning of base-effect.
160.0
133.5
140.0
120.0
100.0
80.0
60.0
-20.0
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy meeting for FY22concluded on 8th
December 2021, maintained the repo rate at a record low of 4% and continued with its accommodative
policy stance. RBI reiterated its emphasis on growth and economic revival.
The central bank’s focus on supporting economic growth prevailed at the just announced policy review, as
in its assessment even though economic recovery is gaining traction it is not yet strong enough to be self-
sustaining and durable. It has reiterated that the accommodative monetary policy stance would be
maintained for as long as necessary for reviving and sustaining economic growth. At the same time the
RBI continues to move towards gradual normalization of policy support. It did not announce any fresh
liquidity infusion measures and indicated that it would keep rebalancing and fine-tuning the liquidity surplus
in the banking system.
In its latest monetary policy meet, the RBI has kept CPI inflation target unchanged at 5.3% for the financial
year 2022. However, the upward revision of CPI estimate for Q3 FY22 to 5.1% from 4.5% earlier is
indicative of price pressures build up in the near term. Soaring vegetable prices, hike in telecom tariffs
along with lower statistical base are expected to push retail inflation print closer to the upper limit of the
RBI’s target band. Also, any plausible supply chain disruptions from Covid-19 latest variant could dilute the
impact of reduced fuel duties on CPI. Against this backdrop, Care Edge Ratings Economic Research
estimates the retail inflation for the year to average around 5.5% with an upward bias.
Going ahead, higher prices of edible oils, metals and crude oil in the international markets is likely to
pressure domestic retail inflation. The passthrough of high international oil prices to the transport sector
could indirectly impact other commodity prices. Food inflation is expected to be benign on the back of
deflation in vegetable prices, good kharif output and adequate buffer stock of food grains. Retail inflation
reading over the coming months could benefit from a helpful base and lower food inflation.
0
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 YTD
Sales Production
Source: CMIE
India was the fifth-largest auto market in 2020 and is expected to be the third largest in terms of volume
by 2026. Across segments of the industry, India is positioned amongst the leading markets, globally. In
volume terms, India ranks as the largest market for two-wheelers as well as tractors. It is also among the
Top-5 and Top-10 markets for Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) and Passenger Vehicles
(PVs), respectively. The major growth drivers for the automobile industry in India are the growing
household income, favourable demographics with a large proportion of young population, expanding R&D
hub and government’s support.
Besides growth prospects, India’s favourable Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy with 100% FDI through
automatic route, relatively low cost of manufacturing, adequate manpower pool has attracted several
foreign OEMs of the industry to invest in India and set-up manufacturing footprint. This include several big
brands such as Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Maruti Suzuki, etc. Indian automobile industry
received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth US$ 25.84 billion between April 2000 and March 2021.
India is the world’s largest tractor manufacturer and second largest bus manufacturer. It is also world’s
largest two-wheeler and three wheeler manufacturer.
India is also an automobile exporter with exports of 4.1 million units in FY2021. The share of automobiles
in India’s total exports stand at around 4.3%. The automobile export have increased at a CAGR of 2.5%
from 3.6 million units in FY2016 to 4.1 million units in FY2021. Exports have also been impacted by the
global impact of Covid-19 in FY2021. The Indian automobile OEMs are on a slow recovery path in their
domestic sales. But their exports increased manifold during the April-June 2021 quarter owing to low base
of the last year, the lower impact of COVID on India’s major export markets like Africa and Latin America,
and better overseas shipments with improved pandemic situation in other international markets.
0
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 YTD
Source: SIAM
Two wheelers and passenger vehicles dominate the domestic Indian auto market. Two wheelers and
passenger cars contributed to asbout 81% and 15% respectively of total automobile sales in FY2021. The
share of various segments in automobile sales and production in India in FY2021 is depicted below:
Passenger Passenger
3% 3%
Vehicles 15% Vehicles 14% 3%
1%
Commercial Commercial
Vehicles Vehicles
81% 81%
Three wheelers Three wheelers
Source: SIAM
59,44,968
55,96,255 55,83,149
14,86,594
Source: CMIE
4
3
3
1
2 1
1
0
Q1FY2021 Q2FY2021 Q3FY2021 Q4FY2021 Q1FY2022 Q2FY2022
Source: CMIE
The sales in Q1 were significantly low on account of several factors including transition from BS-4 to BS-6,
covid-19 induced lockdown, etc. The pandemic had adversely impacted the whole supply chain including
auto component and automobile manufacturers, dealerships and consumers. The mobility restriction had
created labour shortages and closure of factories leading to significant drop in production levels. The travel
restrictions and fear of job losses descended the consumer sentiments and impacted the demand.
With the easing of restrictions from Q2 onwards, supply chain gradually restored and there was recovery
in sales volume. Subsequently, the pent up demand, festive and wedding season led to the further recovery
in Q3. However, during Q4 the industry faced setback due to shortages in semi-conductors which is critical
in vehicle manufacturing. Also rise in fuel prices and price hike by OEMs impacted the demand. This led to
the reduction in domestic sales in Q4 as compared to Q3.
The automobile sector was on the path of recovery in second half of FY21 but the second wave of Covid-
19 has dampened the recovery. With most of the states imposing lockdown restriction in Q1FY2022, the
production as well as demand of automobile is adversely affected. Moreover, the ongoing rally in metal
prices can lead to increase in price of vehicles. This coupled with other unfavourable factors such as rise in
fuel prices, infections reaching to rural areas, etc. have lowered the demand. Therefore, Q1FY2022 will see
sluggish growth but the remaining year may see recovery which will depend on the pace of vaccination
and trajectory of Covid-19 cases. Overall, the automobile sales in FY2022 is expected to be only marginally
better than FY2021.
The commercial vehicles domestic sales trend for various categories of CV is depicted below:
M&HCV LCV
Source: - CMIE
The growth in M&HCV is considered to be a crucial indicator for pickup in investment activity while growth
in LCV is considered as indicator of consumption demand. It can be observed from the above figure that
both the M&HCV and LCV segments have witnessed consistent growth in the period FY2016 to FY2019. It
was driven by growth in infrastructure projects, recovery in rural demand, increased investment activity,
etc. However, there has been a sharp decline in the sales of the CVs in FY2020 onwards. This can be
attributed to various factors such as excess freight capacity owing to improved turnaround time post GST
& revised axle load norms, transition to BSVI, slowdown in economy, pandemic, etc.
The M&HCV segment is seeing a demand recovery post second COVID wave because of improvement in
fleet utilization levels, higher number of road construction projects and improved cement consumption. The
domestic sales of the top players has improved significantly for September 2021 as compared to previous
year September 2020. Tata Motors with increased domestic sale of 30% , Bajaj Auto with an increased
domestic sale of 99%,Ashok Leyland with and increased domestic sale of 12%
The LCV segment is supported by e-commerce which has also seen an upward domestic sale trend of
around 47% when compared with Q1FY22. In past, it also witnessed contraction, with domestic sales
volumes reducing by 20% in FY2020 and 17.3% in FY2021 y-o-y. It is expected that LCV may gain some
momentum as it is necessary for transporting essential goods and FMCG goods. The demand from
agricultural sector would be steady for the reason there were good monsoons and an increase in kharif
crops output.
M&HCV LCV
Source: CMIE
It can be observed from the above figure that there has been a decline in the exports of CVs in the recent
years especially in LCV segment. This is primarily because of economic slowdown and liquidity crunch in
major export markets including SAARC, Middle East and Africa. The new regulations & political uncertainty
in Sri Lanka, duty changes in Nepal were some of the key developments during past four years which
adversely impacted the exports.
Further, with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020, economic activities were disrupted
amid lockdown. The disruption of industrial activity and mobility restrictions adversely impacted the demand
for commercial vehicles. The major factors adversely impacting the commercial vehicle industry in the
recent years is discussed in the next section.
Source: CMIE
It can observed from the above figure that Tata Motors has the highest market share in LCV segment at
41%, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra at 32% for Q2FY22.
Figure 8: Market Share of Key Players in Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle Segment
Source: - CMIE
In the MHCV segment, Tata Motors hold the maximum market share at 55% in Q2FY2020, followed by
Ashok Leyland at 26% for Q2FY2021.
Tata Motors
Tata Motors is the market leader in both the segments of commercial vehicle industry in India. It offers a
wide range of CVs among which the popular ones include Prima, Intercity coach, Tarmac coach, Venture,
Ace, etc. Its domestic sales in commercial vehicle segment declined by 22% in FY21 y-o-y in tandem with
the slowdown in industry. Tata Motors Commercial vehicle domestic sale in Q1FY22 at 43,400 units was
56% lower than the previous quarter (Q4 FY21) as was disrupted by the surge in COVID 2 nd wave. Its
domestic sales break-up into various categories of CV is depicted below:
Exhibit 5: Domestic CV sales of Tata Motors
Category 2019-20 2020-21 Q1FY22 Q2FY22 Variation
M&HCV 58,580 75,485 12,768 19,865 -22%
I&LCV 38,058 41,949 5,762 13,584 -9%
Passenger Carriers 8,599 37,698 2,184 2,760 -77%
SCV cargo and 1,37,253 1,55,723 22,686 42,017 -12%
pickup
Total Domestic 2,42,490 3,10,855 43,400 78,226 -22%
Source: Tata Motors Press Release
Its domestic sales declined by 22% in FY21 y-o-y amid slowdown in the commercial vehicle industry. Its
domestic sales break-up is depicted below:
Ashok Leyland
Ashok Leyland is the second largest player in the MHCV segment with 29% market share and the third
largest in LCV segment with 11% market share. It has a diversified product portfolio consisting of Buses,
Trucks, Light vehicles, Defence vehicles, Engines, Gensets, etc., with vehicle weight ranging from 2.5T to
49T. Its domestic sales in FY21 declined by 35.5% in MHCV segment while it grew by 3.9% in the LCV
segment. The total vehicle sale have increased by 12% for the month of September as compared to sale
last year in the same month
1. Sales Forecast
The commercial vehicle industry is showing recovery as sales volume are improving. The registrations of
commercial vehicle grew by 78% from April-November 2021 which was at 60.6% in the preceding year.
The improvement in fleet utilization and rise in construction of infrastructure will lead to higher demand for
M&HCV while the LCV’s will have a steady growth which will be driven by e-commerce and logistics sector.
The demand for commercial vehicles in second half of FY22 seems to be steady. The sales for the whole
year might grow by 12%-13%. Further, in the financial year FY2022-23 demand for commercial vehicles
seems to be healthy because robust project completions in real estate sector and infrastructure activities
backed by National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) which will help support the demand. The measure of
reducing tax on diesel by Centre and State will help fleet operators to reduce operating costs which would
help improving cash flows which will further help improve the demand. To balance the rising prices of
metals like steel, aluminium CV manufacturers are expected to increase the price in the Q4FY22.Further,
some government’s initiatives such as Vehicle scrappage policy, PLI, greater spending on infra projects
may help in reviving the sector. The Sale revenue in the December quarter would remain flat although
industry will revive its losses in the quarter due to recent reduction in logistic cost due to deduction in diesel
prices. The forecasted sales for CVs is depicted below:
Source: - CMIE
The commercial vehicle industry saw a capacity addition of 7,300 units in FY2021 on account of three
projects completion. However, further capacity addition is expected to be low in the coming years given
the low capacity utilization in the industry. The capacity utilization for most of the years in the last decade
was just 30-35% with capacity utilization of only 25% in FY2021. Even when the production of commercial
vehicle touched all time high in FY19, the capacity utilization was at 45%. Therefore, given the sluggish
demand and low utilization, there is no capacity addition expected in FY22. Manufacturers in coming years
will focus more on electrification of the vehicles. The forecasted production is depicted below:
Source: - CMIE
Contact
Kanmaani S Associate Director kanmaani.s@careedge.in 022 6837 4423
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