Indian passenger vehicle makers are witnessing strong sales growth, but higher volumes are failing to translate into stronger profits as rising commodity prices, adverse currency movements and production disruptions weigh on margins, according to Aabhas Sharma's Times of India report.
Maruti Suzuki offers the clearest example. Its total sales volume rose 29.3% year-on-year to a record more than 6.8 lakh units in the June quarter, while net sales increased 36% to Rs 49,959 crore. However, net profit fell 10.8% to Rs 3,352 crore. Operating EBITDA declined 6.7%, with the margin narrowing to 8.6% from 12.6% a year earlier.
