Bajaj Auto registers record sales of 230,502 units in September 2016

Bajaj Auto has announced record domestic market sales in September 2016.

The Pune-based manufacturer has sold 230,502 units in the domestic market, which could possibly be its peak performance over a long time, if not its highest-ever monthly sales, in the domestic market. This number marks a growth of 22.80 percent YoY (September 2015: 187,711). It is to be noted that Bajaj Auto could breach the 200,000 unit sales mark only twice previously in its domestic sales in the recent past. Last year it sold 202,042 units in October. In 2016, it has crossed the monthly milestone in April, when it had registered sales of 200,433 units.

It can be recalled that Autocar Professional had pointed out, in April 2016, that Bajaj Auto, which banks upon its exports heavily to keep up its 20 percent EBIDTA margins, was bailed out by its surging domestic sales from recording a YoY decline in its overall annual volumes for FY2015-16. Notably, Bajaj Auto’s FY2015-16 volumes (including exports) of 3,358,252 units outperformed its FY2014-15 by only 66,168 units. The company had recorded total sales of 3,292,084 units in FY2014-15 including exports.

Demand for Avengers and V15 boost sales

Surging domestic sales can be attributed to its recent successes in the form of new Avenger line-up and the V15 model. While its 100cc mass commuter motorcycle CT100 continues to be a volume-garner, models such as the Avenger 150 and V15 have fetched the company much-needed additional volumes, ensuring YoY growth.

Autocar Professional estimates that the Avenger and the V brands would have together contributed more than 285,000 units cumulatively during Q1 and Q2 of the ongoing financial year. Sales from Pulsar and CT100 are also estimated to be at least in the range of 290,000-300,000 units, if not starkly more, during the same period.

Furthermore, while the company is now gearing up to cater to festive demand in October 2016, it is now known that it has slated the launch of an all-new motorcycle under a new brand, which only reflects its strategy of increasingly focussing on premium motorcycle segment(s), in November.

The smart move to time the introduction of the all-new single-cylinder, 375cc motorcycle, touted to be Bajaj Auto’s take on India’s growing touring segment, only highlights the company’s intent of balancing out the conventional decline in sales during the post-festive months.

Cumulatively, the company has sold 1,128,425 motorcycles in the domestic market during Q1 and Q2, up by 18.14 percent YoY. It’s H1 FY2015-16 domestic sales stood at 955,148 motorcycles.

Exports record YoY decline

The company has registered a 28.80 percent decline YoY in its monthly exports. While it exported 101,474 units last month, company data says that it had shipped out 142,517 motorcycles in September last year.

Bajaj Auto’s cumulative H1 exports stand at 641,529 motorcycles, down by 22.07 percent YoY. The company had shipped 823,184 motorcycles during the same period last year.

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