NEW DELHI: Even as automobile sales witnessed improvement in July, they are yet nowhere near the growth seen in demand for tractors. Riding high on the back of good monsoon, favorable Kharif season and increased disposal income, most OEMs registered high double-digit growth in sales last month.
Sonalika Tractor recorded its highest ever domestic growth of 71.7 per cent in July 2020 at 8, 219 units compared to 4,788 units sold last year. Raman Mittal, Executive Director, Sonalika Group, said, “Our cumulative domestic growth (April-Jul) is at 17.7 per cent, which is highest in the entire tractor industry... We look forward to the uptick in demand and continue our momentum by surpassing the industry growth in the forthcoming festive season as well.”Similarly, market leader Mahindra & Mahindra saw a jump of 28 per cent in its tractor sales at 24,463 units, as against 19,174 units during July 2019.
According to Hemant Sikka, President, Farm Equipment Sector at M&M, “These are the company’s highest-ever July sales. The strong demand momentum continued, aided by positive sentiments due to good cash flows to farmers, higher Kharif sowing, a timely and normal monsoon cumulatively across June and July and continued higher rural spending by the government.”He added that sentiments are likely to remain buoyant translating into robust tractor demand in the coming months.
Faridabad-based Escorts, too, sold 5,322 tractors in July 2020 registering a growth of 9.5 per cent year-on-year. The marginal growth came even as the company operated only at 50 per cent of its capacity. While the future looks positive, Escorts said supply side constraints may continue to be dynamic for a couple of months. Rating agency ICRA said it continues to maintain a stable outlook for the tractor industry even as uncertainty continues to exist. It expects a growth in volumes between 2-4 per cent in the financial year 2021.