Ashok Leyland parked among losers

Ashok Leyland opened lower today at Rs82.80, down over 3% and going down further to Rs.82.10. But from this low point of the day it bounced back with bargain hunters swooping in for the long term. Its 52-week low is at Rs.77.50.

Yesterday, after market hours the company said that its plant, situated at Pantnagar will remain closed from July 16, 2019 to July 24,2019 (both days inclusive), owing to weak demand and outlook for the industry.

The going has been rough for automobile companies and at least as of now, one does not know when the trend will reverse. The company, for Q1FY20 reported a 9% (YoY) fall in total CV production at 43,660 units.

June alone saw its CV production drop 23%  while domestic factory dispatches were down 14%.

Ashok Leyland is not the only company to announce production cut – Tata Motors, Maruti and M&M too have a production cut in place as it makes economic sense to cut down production when demand is low.