Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd has joined hands with Bank of Baroda, wherein the Mahindra group firm will generate new and pre-owned car loan leads for the PSU lender through its distribution network.

The tie-up is expected to improve the car loan portfolio of BoB, which has been looking to increase its market share in retail lending.

Early last month, the lender had announced a reduction in home loan rates by 40 basis points in a limited-period offer.

While the offer lasted till March 31, it came amid the 250-basis point hike in policy repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India since May last year.

For the third quarter ended December 31, auto loans at BoB stood at Rs 29,821 crore — a rise of 27.5 per cent over Rs 23,384 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Its growth was more than that of home loans that stood at 19.6 per cent, but at a higher volume of Rs 91,989 crore.

A statement from the Mahindra group on Tuesday said that under the tie-up, its non-banking finance arm will generate new and pre-owned car loan leads for BoB through its widespread field and branch distribution channels, complemented by the latter’s wide network across the country for loan processing.

The tie-up comes into effect from April 1 with a pan-India coverage.

PV sales rise 14%

New Delhi: Passenger vehicle retail sales increased 14 per cent year-on-year to 3,35,266 units in March, riding on the back of an improved supply of electronic components, dealer body FADA said.

As the high-growth period has now passed, FY24 is expected to see tapered growth in the low single digits due to a high base, inflationary pressures, routine price hikes, and regulatory changes.

The untimely rains and hailstorms in North and Central India have destroyed key rabi crops and delayed harvesting, which will have a negative impact on rural sales. The year will also witness high EV penetration which will eat into ICE market share.

As the top five car makers — Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, M&M, and Kia —registered positive growth in the wholesale numbers in March 2023, retail figures also moved northwards in the same month. Month-on-month retail sales of passenger vehicles grew 16.7 per cent from 287,182 units in February.

“Better supplies, coupled with better sales (of PVs), though at the upper end of the spectrum, kept the meter ticking. Multiple festivals kept the sales healthy, though inquiry levels have now started decreasing,” FADA president Manish Raj Singhania said.

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT