Mahindra zooms past Tata Motors as most valuable auto firm

Mahindra & Mahindra, India's largest maker of utility vehicles, on Friday shot past Tata Motors as the country's biggest automaker by market value, after slumping passenger car demand dragged down Tata's shares.

Mahindra shares increased 0.27 per cent to close at Rs 719.10 on Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of Rs 44,100 crore. In contrast, shares of Tata Motors fell 5.28 per cent to Rs713.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, eroding its market capitalisation to Rs38,402 crore, pushing it to the fourth spot among the auto makers after Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp.

Tata Motors' Jaguar deliveries have declined this year as the European debt crisis and signs of slowing economic growth in the US eroded demand for luxury vehicles. Overseas sales, mainly of the Jaguar and Land Rover, account for about 63 per cent of Tata Motors' total revenue.

Tata Motors, which continues to be India's biggest company by revenue, saw an erosion of 15.63 per cent in its stock value over the last one week or six trading sessions. M&M stock, during the same period, saw a fall of 1.1 per cent.

India's second-largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto's market cap stood at Rs41,414 crore, the second biggest in the auto pack, while two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp's market valuation stood at Rs39,810 crore.

With nearly 52 per cent of JLR's volume being sold in the US, the UK and Europe (excluding Russia), the two brands have very high exposure to these economically-troubled markets.