Mumbai: Bajaj Auto has toppled Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) as the third most valued auto company in the country. Bajaj Auto’s market cap on January 29 crossed the Rs 2 lakh crore-mark to touch Rs 2.04 lakh crore, surpassing M&M. Maruti Suzuki has a market cap of Rs 3.13 lakh crore, while Tata Motors mcap is Rs 2.59 lakh crore.

Bajaj Auto stock gained 5.3 per cent to close at Rs 7,596 on January 25. Arun Agarwal, Vice-President & Automobile Analyst, Kotak Securities, said Bajaj Auto’s volumes grew 14 per cent QoQ led by 30 per cent QoQ volume growth in the domestic two-wheeler segment.

Its EBITDA margin expanded YoY, supported by commodity tailwinds. In Q3FY24, gross profit per vehicle and EBITDA per vehicle improved over Q2FY24. Recovery in the domestic two-wheeler segment is expected to continue.

“We are impressed by Bajaj Auto’s margin resilience despite adverse mix (3W volume contribution down 300bps QoQ). This validates the fact that its margin performance is not overtly dependent on 3W performance. Domestic 2W retail market share gain has been impressive at 150 bps YoY to 12 percent YTDFY24. Domestic 2W industry volumes have held up post festive season as well. We expect these to grow in the high single-digit in FY25E,” Elara Securities said.