Tata Motors registers 40 per cent drop in sales amid Covid-19 crisis

Like most other carmakers in India, Tata Motors too failed to avoid the impact of Covid-19 crisis on sales in May. The Indian vehicle manufacturer registered a drop of 40 per cent in domestic passenger vehicles sales last month, compared to April this year.

Tata Motors has announced that it could sell only 15,181 units of passenger vehicles last month, compared to 25,095 units it could sell in April. The slump in month-on-month sales figures, however, appear as major gains if compared to May last year, when Tata Motors could sell only 3,152 units due to the nationwide lockdown enforced to curb spread of Covid-19 virus.

Tata Motors issued a statement today, saying that its overall sales in the domestic market last month stood at 24,552 units. The figures are around 38 per cent lower than what the carmaker achieved in April, when it sold 39,530 units.

Exports for Tata Motors fared better in comparison with its overall sales figures. Tata exported 2,030 units of commercial vehicles in May compared to 2,209 units in the previous month, which is a drop of about 8 per cent.

If May was bad, April was not any better for Tata Motors in terms of sales. It had recorded a month-on-month drop of more than 40 per cent in sales.

The slump in sales was expected in May as most of the states announced lockdown like last year to tackle the Covid-19 crisis. Being one of the major bases for the carmaker, lockdown in Maharashtra showed its impact on Tata Motors' performance last month.

The ongoing Covid crisis has not only harmed sales prospects of all Indian carmakers, it has also had its impact on production too. Several carmakers had to force shut their facilities amid lockdown restrictions as they continue to battle shortage of supply, a problem faced by most carmakers around the world.