Eicher Motors Limited recently released commercial vehicle sales volumes for its unlisted subsidiary VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (VECV) for January 2024. The results were mixed, with an overall decline of 1.6% in total sales volume year-over-year but growth in certain key segments.
Total sales of Eicher trucks and buses fell slightly to 6,858 units in January 2024, down from 6,992 units in January 2023. However, VECV continued to see strong growth in the heavy-duty truck segment of 18.5 tonnes and above, with sales up 0.6% to 1,652 units. Year-to-date, Eicher's total truck and bus sales were up 10% compared to the same period last year.
On the buses side, light and medium-duty bus sales rose 7.8% in January to 1,402 units while heavy-duty bus sales declined 4.4% to 238 units. For the 10 months of the fiscal year so far, light/medium bus sales were significantly higher at 22.4% growth and heavy bus sales grew 28.7%.
The one area that dragged overall sales lower was light/medium trucks from 3.5-18.5 tonnes, which saw a drop of 10.8% in domestic volumes in January to 3,211 units. Total domestic commercial vehicle volumes fell 4.2% as a result. However, exports provided a bright spot, with total overseas volumes spiking 76.6% on the back of robust growth in light/medium truck exports.