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Informist, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

 

By Anand JC

 

MUMBAI – In a classic case of a falling tide sinking all ships, the collective bottom line of the 18 automobile and ancillary companies that are a part of Nifty 200 fell for the fifth consecutive quarter in the September quarter. The falling tide in this case was the undivided Tata Motors, which saw its Jaguar and Land Rover operations being severely impacted by a crippling cyber-attack in September. When the undivided Tata Motors is excluded, the reporting quarter was actually the best for automobile companies since the June quarter of 2024.

 

Automobile companies led corporate India's growth last quarter as they firmly benefited from the optimism after the cut in the goods and services tax and festival buying. "While the overall earnings print remained healthy across the sector, OEM (original equipment manufacturers) companies fared better than Auto component companies during the quarter," Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in a note.

 

For the September quarter, the net profit of the 18 automobile companies, after adjusting for one-time items, fell 17% year-on-year. This result was significantly worse than the expected 7.4% profit growth for the sector. Excluding the Nexon-maker, the 17 remaining companies saw their cumulative net profit growing 13% year-on-year. When one-time items were removed, the net profit growth of these companies improved to a five-quarter high of 16%. Of these 17 companies, only six saw their profit grow faster than 16%, while 10 companies' profit grew at a lower rate. As many as 11 companies' reported net profit expanded year-on-year during the September quarter and that of five companies contracted, same as in the June quarter and the year-ago quarter.

 

For a like-to-like comparison, earnings of both Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and new Tata Motors were added to the net profit of the Nifty group in this analysis. The two businesses released their quarterly results separately as the demerger came into effect from October.

 

The 17 automobile companies outperformed the Nifty 200 index, which reported a profit growth of 10.9% on an aggregate basis. Excluding the loss-making Ola Electric Mobility Ltd., eight companies surpassed the Nifty 200's profit growth of 10.9%, while the remaining eight firms underperformed the index.

 

As many as 13 automobile companies drove the sector's growth, pushing overall revenue to rise 4.7% year on year, while five companies' sluggish top line performance caused the cohort to miss analyst expectations of a 4.9% growth. As 14 companies' revenues grew and only four firms' contracted in the September quarter, the sector showed a slight improvement over the June and year-ago quarters, when five firms each had reported a decline.

 

Demand for automobiles saw an unprecedented pick-up in the reporting quarter on the back of price cuts due to the GST cut that took effect from Sept. 22, additional discounts as dealerships stocked up on inventory ahead of festival season, companies told analysts during earnings calls for the quarter. "Revenue growth (of automobile companies) YoY was supported by higher demand, better pricing, and premiumisation," Nuvama Wealth Management said in a note.

 

Most automakers expect sales growth to be better in the second half of the financial year compared with the first half. The country's largest passenger vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. said that the GST cut has clearly revived the consumption sentiment, particularly in the small car segment which now attracts a GST of 18% compared with 28?rlier. Car companies largely expect the festival momentum to maintain till at least December, before moderating. Maruti Suzuki expects the passenger vehicle industry to sustain sales growth of 6% on year for the rest of the financial year.

 

Two-wheelers form nearly 80% of the automobiles sold in India and have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the GST cut. Hero MotoCorp Ltd. earlier this year guided for the two-wheeler industry's sales to grow 5-6% in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar). It has retained this guidance despite the GST cut after a slower-than-expected sales growth in the first half of FY26. The management now expects two-wheeler industry sales to grow 8-10% in Oct-Mar of FY26.

 

The profit margin of the 17 automobile companies, excluding the undivided Tata Motors, was 9.11% in the September quarter, lower than 9.34% in the June quarter but a tad higher than 9.07% in the year-ago quarter.

 

OUTLIERS

The undivided Tata Motors significantly impacted the sector's aggregate financials and made a large, negative difference in the September quarter results. Tata Motors Ltd.--now the commercial vehicles flagship--and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. reported a combined net loss of nearly INR 27 billion from continuing operations for the September quarter, when adjusted for exceptional items. The two had reported a combined net profit of almost INR 35 billion in the year-ago quarter. Including one-time items, the September quarter loss ballooned to INR 73 billion, significantly skewing the sector's aggregate financials.

 

Tata Motors' passenger vehicles business went through the mill in the September quarter because a major cyber-attack crippled the operations of its UK-based arm, Jaguar Land Rover. JLR contributes over 60% to undivided Tata Motors' top line. The company halted production for the entirety of September and then some to stave off the attack. The cyber-attack caused JLR's retail volumes to fall 17% year-on-year in the September quarter to 85,500 units, which ultimately led to undivided Tata Motors' revenue declining more than 10% year-on-year.

 

Barring the loss-making undivided Tata Motors and Ola Electric, only auto parts makers saw profits contract year-on-year among the 18 companies. Among these, Exide Industries reported the steepest profit fall. Exide Industries' net profit fell 26% year on year to INR 2.21 billion, while its revenue declined 2% year on year to INR 41.78 billion. An uptick in input costs and expenses related to extended producer responsibility norms under the new battery waste management rules impacted the company's profitability. Its top line fell year on year as channel partners temporarily postponed purchases after the GST cut was announced.

 

Two-wheeler companies, including Bajaj Auto Ltd., Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Co. Ltd., and Eicher Motors Ltd.--the maker of Royal Enfield-motorcycles--were the top performers among the 18 automobile companies that are a part of the Nifty 200 index. Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler maker by sales volume, reported a record high quarterly standalone revenue and profit, driven by higher sales of entry, deluxe, and scooter segments. The company's net profit grew 16% year on year to INR 13.93 billion, while its revenues increased 16% year on year to INR 121.26 billion.

 

Bajaj Auto's domestic performance was eclipsed by an impressive growth in exports in the September quarter. The Pune-based automaker reported a net profit of INR 24.80 billion, up 24% year on year, on revenues of INR 149.22 billion, up 14% year on year. Bajaj Auto's top-end motorcycles saw a robust growth in the reporting quarter, which indicates that higher-wallet customers are upgrading aggressively, Nuvama noted. The company also arrested the decline in market share of its Pulsar portfolio by the end of the September quarter, especially of variants with an engine capacity over 125 cubic centimetres.

 

Financials of Eicher Motors climbed to record highs and stood out on strong sales of its Royal Enfield motorcycles. The company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 13.69 billion, up 25% on year, on revenues of INR 61.72 billion, up 45% on year. The company saw increased sales of its Classic 350 series while exports to Brazil, Nepal, and Bangladesh saw a strong momentum, the company told analysts during the analyst call.

 

The following table shows the performance of the 17 automobile companies, excluding undivided Tata Motors, vis-a-vis the consensus estimate for each company as well as against the consensus estimate for the sectors and the Nifty 200 index:

 

Jul-Sept 2025-26 (Apr-Mar)	PAT growth (Actual)	PAT growth (Estimate)	Revenue growth (Actual)	Revenue growth (Estimate)
Nifty 200 (YoY)	10.88%	9.73%	7.77%	7.82%
Auto & auto ancillary companies (18 companies)	-17.22%	7.43%	4.65%	4.91%
Auto & auto ancillary companies (17 excluding undivided Tata Motors)	16.13%	14.83%	12.71%	10.41%

 

Company

PAT beat analysts' estimate for co

Adjusted PAT growth %

Adjusted PAT growth estimate %

PAT beat Auto sector growth

PAT beat Nifty 200 growth

Revenue beat analysts' estimate for co

Revenue growth %

Revenue growth estimate %

Revenue beat Auto sector growth

Revenue beat Nifty 200 growth

Apollo Tyres

YES

44.76

21.20

YES

YES

YES

6.12

4.90

NO

NO

Ashok Leyland

YES

24.26

12.37

YES

YES

YES

9.34

9.21

NO

YES

Bajaj Auto

NO

23.68

23.72

YES

YES

YES

13.67

12.13

YES

YES

Bharat Forge

NO

-8.57

-8.56

NO

NO

NO

-13.34

-8.70

NO

NO

Bosch

NO

13.71

15.49

NO

YES

NO

9.11

11.00

NO

YES

Eicher Motors

NO

24.46

28.53

YES

YES

YES

44.77

41.51

YES

YES

Escorts Kubota

NO

6.12

15.06

NO

NO

YES

22.63

22.57

YES

YES

Exide Industries

NO

-25.87

8.51

NO

NO

NO

-2.09

4.81

NO

NO

Hero Motocorp

NO

15.73

18.77

NO

YES

YES

15.90

13.99

YES

YES

Hyundai Motor India

YES

14.31

9.12

NO

YES

NO

1.16

1.53

NO

NO

Mahindra and Mahindra

YES

17.69

4.65

YES

YES

YES

21.30

17.46

YES

YES

Maruti Suzuki India

NO

7.30

17.41

NO

NO

YES

13.17

5.94

YES

YES

MRF

YES

12.33

8.89

NO

YES

NO

7.24

9.01

NO

NO

Ola Electric Mobility

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

YES

-43.16

-43.62

NO

NO

Samvardhana Motherson International

YES

-1.88

-15.04

NO

NO

YES

8.49

7.57

NO

YES

Sona BLW Precision Forgings

YES

12.57

0.46

NO

YES

YES

23.61

12.76

YES

YES

TVS Motor Co.

NO

36.74

44.52

YES

YES

YES

29.01

27.54

YES

YES

 

End

 

Data compiled by Vinod Bhovad

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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