Tata Motors revvs up for Q3 with new models, festive buzz, and a little extra inventory

Tata Motors is looking to drive significant passenger vehicle growth in retail on the back of its new model launches as well as a comprehensive marketing campaign, it informed in its Q2 filing on Friday. The company is also expecting to reduce its built-up inventory from Q2 through Q3 sales.

Moreover, despite observing a five per cent decline in registrations in the second quarter of FY25, Tata Motors expects a robust demand in the next quarter owing to the festive season.

“The Passenger Vehicle industry in Q2 FY25 witnessed 5% decline in registrations, resulting in continued build-up of channel inventory. Sales of EVs were additionally impacted by lapse of certain subsidies. We moderated our offtakes in Q2 to proactively keep our channel inventory under control. Q3 has started off with a resurgence in industry demand on the back of a robust festive season,” said said Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director TMPV and TPEM.

The company reported that its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September 2024 fell 11.18% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,343 crore, much lower than Street estimates of Rs 5,038 crore as reflected in an ET Now.

During the quarter, its revenue dropped 3.5% YoY to Rs 101,450 crore.

This year, the festive season began earlier, starting in early October compared to mid-October last year, which boosted car retail sales across the industry for the month, Reuters had earlier reported.

While retail sales saw double-digit growth, wholesale sales—referring to carmakers' sales to dealers—remained flat or slightly lower. The only exception was the strong performance of SUV sales, which stood out as the sole bright spot.

Despite strong retail sales and slower wholesales, cars sat in showrooms for an average of five extra days in October before being sold, pushing the so-called inventory days to 75–80, well above the recommended level of around 30 days, according to FADA.

As a result, the dealers' association anticipates that discounts may persist through the end of the year, noted the news agency.

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