Chennai, Mar 2 (IANS): It was a mixed performance last month for the Indian automobile sector with the demand for passenger vehicles (PV) moderating, positive growth for tractors and two-wheelers recovering, said Emkay Global Financial Services.

Reviewing last month's sales numbers of automobile players Emkay Global in a report said, the sales volumes exhibited a mixed performance.

While growth in PV wholesale for major players moderated to about 11 per cent YoY, reflecting slowing retail trends (about 8 per cent YoY, as per Vahan), the tractor industry surprised positively with 23-25 per cent YoY growth, Emkay Global said.

Within two-wheelers, domestic retails/wholesales have shown recovery with about 16 per cent/over 20 per cent yoy growth partly also supported by low base. Exports remained affected across two-wheeler players, with a 40-52 per cent YoY decline.

According to the report, the electric two wheeler industry continued to witness consolidation (penetration levels hovering at 5-5.2 per cent; share of major OEMs rising) with TVS Motor Company being an outlier with over 15,000 wholesales.

In the case of medium, heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV), growth remained healthy, supported by pre-buying ahead of BS-VI phase-2 norms (effective Apri 2023) and associated price hikes.

Growth in buses and three-wheelers rebounded strongly with the reopening of the economy, said Emkay Global.

According to Emkay Global, the growth in wholesales for major PV players moderated to about 11 per cent, reflecting slowing retails.

While demand for the recent sport utility vehicle (SUV) launches across the industry remained strong with a huge backlog, supply-chain issues and weak demand for the entry-level car segment continue to be a challenge with rising discounts, said Emkay Global.