Tata Motors sales decline 21 pc to 30,972 units in April

New Delhi: Tata Motors today reported a 21per cent decline in total sales in April at 30,972 units as compared to 39,389 units in the same month last year. Domestic sales of Tata Motors' commercial and passenger vehicles declined by 19 per cent to 28,844 units in April, as compared to 35,604 units in the same month of the previous year.

Sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market grew 23 per cent to 12,827 units last month. "While the industry faced short-term headwinds further to the BS III verdict, Tata Motors continued its robust sales performance with a growth of 23 per cent in April led by a strong pipeline for Tiago and a positive response for our new lifestyle UV - Tata HEXA," Tata Motors President Passenger Vehicles Business Unit Mayank Pareek said in a statement.

The company has completed the launch of Tata Tigor across the country and is delighted that it has been well received by customers, he added. In the commercial vehicles segment, the company's domestic sales were down 36 per cent at 16,017 units, the auto major said.

The company said its commercial vehicles were affected by the Supreme Court judgement on March 29, banning sales of BS- III vehicles,?leading to the need for a higher quantity of BS-IV stock for April sales.

"The higher demand at short notice, was not met in production, as vendors struggled to meet with the higher demand, especially in the MHCV segments," it added. Moreover, after the strong pre-buying of BS-III vehicles in March, and the price increase of BS-IV vehicles especially in the MHCV and buses, demand for BS-IV vehicles was also weak, the company said. "This is an unusual decline, in exceptional circumstances," Tata Motors said. The company expects production, wholesales and retails to pick up in May and June, it added.