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Telco's May commercial vehicle sales dive 41 per cent

Commercial vehicle sales at India's largest truck and busmaker, Telco Ltd, plunged 40.9 per cent in May, figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers on Friday showed.

The sales figures came on the back of a Rs 5.0-billion annual loss in 2000-01 (April-March) announced by Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd last week.

An SIAM statement said Telco's mainline medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales fell 34.9 per cent in May to 2,573 units over the year-ago month while light commercial vehicle sales crashed 47.4 per cent.

Telco's total commercial vehicle sales in April-May, the first two months of the current financial year, fell 28.7 per cent over the year-ago period.

Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales were down 19.4 per cent at 6,209 units while light commercial vehicle sales dived 42 per cent.

Telco's losses in the previous year reflect the company's falling vehicle sales in a slowing economy, higher costs and lower other income.

Last year, its domestic commercial vehicle sales dropped 19.8 per cent and cars and utility vehicle sales 13.2 per cent. Its exports, however, grew 19 per cent.

Analysts estimated that medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales account for about 43 per cent of Telco's revenues in 2000-01 and light commercial vehicles 22 per cent. Cars and utility vehicles accounted equally for the rest.

Company officials told an analyst meeting last week they expected commercial vehicle sales to rise five per cent in the year to March 2002, most of it concentrated in the second half of the year.

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