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Informist, Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

 

By Anand JC

 

NEW DELHI – Automobile and ancillary companies that are a part of the Nifty 200 index posted a mid-single digit revenue growth and a 28%  fall in net profit for the December quarter, mainly due to Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., which continued to reel from the cyber-attack on its UK-based subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover. Excluding the Sierra-maker, the revenue of the remaining 14 companies grew 21% on year, in line with earnings estimates for the group and profit rose 19%, below estimates. These 14 companies' net profit, excluding one-time items, rose 28% on year, a touch below estimates.

 

The 15 automobile companies' revenue growth for the December quarter was half of the Nifty 200 index companies' top line growth. Their bottom line performance – a 28?ll in net profit - was also poorer than that of the Nifty 200 index companies, which reported a 4.9% on-year growth in profit. These automobile companies' revenue growth was also poorer than the Nifty 50 index companies' 9% on-year revenue growth and a 1.3?ll in profit.

 

The 15 companies analysed here include 10 automobile companies and five auto-ancillary companies. The bottom line of these 15 companies, adjusted for one-time items and labour code implementation cost, fell 8% on year, worse than expectations of a contraction of near 13%. Adjusted for one-time items, the contraction moderates to around 8% on year.

 

The cumulative revenue of auto companies grew 4.9% on year for the December quarter, below the expected 5.7% growth. Excluding Tata Motors PV, the collective revenue of the remaining 14 auto companies improved 21% on year, in line with estimates.

 

Tata Motors PV accounts for roughly a quarter of the 15 auto companies' combined top line. Among auto companies that are a part of Nifty 200, it was the only firm to report a loss in the December quarter, after reporting a loss in the September quarter as well. Of the remaining 14, no company reported a fall in bottom line for the December quarter, an improvement over the September quarter and the year-ago quarter when two firms had reported a fall in their profit.

 

Tata Motors PV emerged as the sole laggard in the December quarter among the automobile firms. The company reported a consolidated net loss of INR 34.86 billion, which improves to a net loss of INR 19 billion when adjusted for one-time items. Its revenue from operations for the quarter under review fell 26% on year to INR 701.1 billion. Tata Motors PV, which derives nearly 80% of its revenue from JLR, was impacted by weakness in its UK-arm despite a bumper quarter for its domestic operations. JLR continued to feel the heat of the cyberattack which happened in September, on top of weak global demand, pressure in China, and the impact of tariffs by the US.

 

Auto component makers reported a robust growth in the December quarter as increased demand for automobiles, led to a boost in production. "Tyre manufacturers reported healthy revenue growth led by robust OEM (original equipment manufacturers') sales and a recovery in aftermarket demand post GST (goods and services tax) cuts," Equirus Securities said in a report. "In contrast, battery companies underperformed despite improved industry demand. Ancillary players largely delivered solid operational performance," it said.

 

TOP PERFORMERS

Auto companies operating across two-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and tractors segments reported strong growth in the December quarter, reaping benefits of full pass-through of the cut in GST which coincided with the festival season. "While no aggressive price hikes were undertaken by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), revenue growth was largely volume- and mix-driven in Q3," Prabhudas Lilladher said in a report.

 

Two-wheelers, which account for around 80% of automobiles sold in India, were among the biggest drivers of the quarter's growth. The adjusted net profit of two-wheeler makers such as Bajaj Auto Ltd., Royal Enfield motorcycle-makers Eicher Motors Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd., and TVS Motor Co. Ltd. grew 22-58% on year, sharply higher than that of the wider group. Their revenue grew 18-37% on year. While TVS Motor reported highest-ever quarterly sales, revenue, and profit, Bajaj Auto's revenue, profit, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation hit a record high. TVS Motor's management indicated that the two-wheeler industry's sales volumes could grow more than 15% in the March quarter due to GST benefits and improving rural sentiment.

 

Among the passenger vehicle makers, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. reported growth of 20% and 36% on year in their adjusted net profit, respectively, while their revenue grew 29% and 26%, respectively. Managements of auto companies have said the domestic sales performance in the December quarter was much better than in the first half of 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) as inventories fell markedly due to a sharp rise in demand, causing supply constraints. Hyundai Motor India Ltd. had a relatively soft quarter because of muted sales growth in India, even as exports continued to grow.

 

Commercial vehicle makers also fared well in the quarter under review as improved goods movement boosted demand. Medium-heavy commercial vehicle makers gained due to increased freight rates and replacement demand, according to the management of Ashok Leyland Ltd. The Chennai-based automaker reported a profit growth of 45% on year and revenue growth of 22% on year

 

COMMODITY PRESSURES

Auto companies flagged volatile commodity rates seen during the December quarter, especially in precious metals. "Most OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have reported a 40-70bp impact, due to higher raw materials price, especially for noble metals," Elara Securities said in a report. Most auto companies announced mild price hikes earlier in the March quarter or announced plans to hike prices in order to offset the pressure of input costs, except Maruti Suzuki, which is yet to take a call on when it would hike prices.

 

Hero MotoCorp's management said commodity costs impacted its margin for the December quarter by 40-50 basis points. Interestingly, while the company has already hiked prices of its two-wheelers earlier in January by a modest INR 300 per unit, the management indicated it is open to hiking prices again should the input cost pressures persist.

 

The following table shows the performance of the 14 automobile companies, excluding Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., vis-a-vis the consensus estimate for each company as well as against the consensus estimate for the sectors and the Nifty 200 index. The assessment of if the respective company beat either the Nifty 200 index growth or auto sector companies' growth has been made by comparing growth rates to data excluding Tata Motors PV:

 

Oct-Dec 2025-26 (Apr-Mar)	PAT growth (Actual)	PAT growth (Estimate)	Revenue growth (Actual)	Revenue growth (Estimate)
Nifty 200 (YoY)	16.3%	9.8%	10.1%	7.3%
Auto & auto ancillary companies (15 companies)	-7.6%	-12.7%	4.9%	5.7%
Auto & auto ancillary companies (14 excluding Tata Motors PV)	27.9%	29.3%	21.2%	21.4%

 

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

Ashok Leyland

YES

45.00

39.31

YES

YES

YES

21.68

19.69

YES

YES

Bajaj Auto

NO

21.60

24.85

NO

YES

NO

18.85

20.41

NO

YES

Bharat Forge

NO

50.37

59.83

YES

YES

YES

24.96

17.44

YES

YES

Bosch

NO

9.38

15.26

NO

NO

NO

9.40

12.50

NO

NO

Eicher Motors

YES

26.11

18.25

NO

YES

YES

22.94

21.34

YES

YES

Exide Industries

NO

8.88

15.94

NO

NO

NO

4.71

11.95

NO

NO

Hero Motocorp

YES

22.01

20.15

NO

YES

YES

20.74

19.51

NO

YES

Hyundai Motor India

NO

6.35

20.18

NO

YES

7.96

7.30

NO

NO

Mahindra and Mahindra

NO

35.93

36.42

YES

YES

NO

25.77

26.86

YES

YES

Maruti Suzuki India

NO

19.91

27.21

NO

YES

NO

28.74

31.54

YES

YES

MRF

YES

146.59

102.98

YES

YES

YES

15.26

10.90

NO

YES

Samvardhana Motherson

YES

21.80

11.58

NO

YES

YES

13.53

12.28

NO

YES

Sona BLW Precision Forgings

YES

21.68

9.48

NO

YES

YES

39.23

29.39

YES

YES

TVS Motor Co.

NO

58.73

65.72

YES

YES

YES

37.15

35.15

YES

YES

End

 

Data Compiled by Vinod Bhovad

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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