Maruti Suzuki vs M&M: Which auto stock should you buy for long term?

livemint.com:

Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which auto major is a better investment for the long term. In the last one year, both Maruti and M&M gave decent returns but underperformed the benchmark. While Maruti rose almost 12 percent in this period, M&M advanced over 10 percent.

In comparison, the benchmark Nifty Auto gained around 20 percent in the last 1 year. Meanwhile, in 2023 YTD, Maruti and M&M rose 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively, again underperforming the benchmark Nifty Auto, which added over 26 percent in this period. Maruti has given positive returns in 7 of the 10 months so far in this current calendar year, falling only in 3 - October (down 2 percent), March (down 3.85 percent) and January (down 3 percent).

Meanwhile, it gave positive returns for 6 straight months between April and September, up 28 percent in that period. On the other hand, M&M has given positive returns in 6 of the 10 months of the current calendar year. It fell over 6 percent in October after a 1.3 percent loss in September.

It also declined 8.7 percent and 7.9 percent in March and Feb, respectively. The stock gave positive returns for 5 straight months between April and August, up 36 percent in this period. Maruti hit its record high of ₹10,845 last month, on October 27, 2023.

Currently trading at ₹10,303.60, it has gained only 27 percent from its 52-week low of ₹8,076.05, hit on December 26, 2022. Meanwhile, M&M hit its record high of ₹1,670 on September 18, 2023. Currently trading at ₹1,469.70, it has advanced 31 percent from its 52-week low of ₹1,123.40, hit on March 28, 2023.