The fast-growing scooter segment continues to draw customers even as the Honda Activa tops the bestselling two-wheelers list once again in July 2017. The popular Honda beat the conventional bestselling two-wheeler brand, Hero Splendor by a respectable margin of 70,211 units last month.

The overall two-wheeler segment sold a total of 1.67 million units in July 2017 (1,679,055), up 13.73% year on year. While a total of 569,809 scooters were bought (+13%), 1,048,657 motorcycles were also sold (+16.90%), pointing to the return of demand from the rural market. Demand for mopeds though has taken a dip – 60,589 units were sold (-19.20%).

For the April-July 2017 period, cumulative sales total 6,575,225 units (+9.24%) comprising 2,217,499 scooters (+18.16%), 4,103,644 motorcycles (+6.58%) and 254,082 mopeds (-13.04%). Clearly, TVS Motor Co, the sole moped manufacturer in the country, will have to do a rethink about how it plans to revive sales in the segment where it has no rivals. But the fact of the matter is also that two-wheeler OEMs are introducing affordable models that are seeing potential mopeds buyers upgrade to motorcycles and scooters. Let’s take a closer look at the Top 10 best-sellers on two wheels last month.

The Honda Activa with sales of 292,669 units, up 14.24 percent YoY, rode past the Hero Splendor which sold 222,458 units (+12.49%) indicating one again the surging demand for gearless scooters in the country.  

However, what is noteworthy is TVS Motor’s bestselling scooter, the 110cc Jupiter, which is also India’s second largest selling scooter brand (after the Honda Activa), has outsold its sibling, the XL Super moped in July. The TVS Jupiter sold 62,707 units (+34.69%) to stand as the the seventh bestselling two-wheeler brand for the month, along with seven motorcycles. The TVS XL Super moped, on the other hand, sold 60,589 units (-19.20%) to become the eighth highest selling two-wheeler in the country. TVS’ iconic moped, which continues to be one of the most affordable two-wheeler models that one can buy in India, primarily seen buyers in the form of ultra-cost sensitive customers from deep rural pockets across all regions.  

TVS Motor officials though are of the opinion that moped sales are temporarily affected due to uneven and scattered rainfall in the south India region. The Jupiter scooter, on the other hand, has been consistently growing in terms of its monthly sales and has now become the top-selling model from its stable.

Secondly, the TVS Jupiter is now also outselling the Bajaj Pulsar family for the past few months. Interestingly, TVS Motor currently retails four variants of Jupiter scooter while Bajaj Auto retails more than eight different models under its Pulsar umbrella. The TVS Jupiter outsold the Pulsar family in July just like it did in June and in May too. In July 2017, the Bajaj Pulsar recorded total sales of 56,953 units (up 29.43 percent YoY) and ranked ninth in the list.

Royal Enfield’s bestselling model, the Classic 350, which recently saw the addition of new colourful Redditch variants, sold 42,967 units in July and stood last in the list.

At the top end in the list, the HF Deluxe, Hero MotoCorp’s number-two bestseller remains constant as the third top-selling two-wheeler brand in July with sales of 155,908 units (up 53.29 percent YoY).

Honda’s 125cc CB Shine has outperformed Hero’s popular Passion and Glamour brands in July. While the Honda CB Shine reported sales of 81,704 units (up 43.61 percent YoY), Hero Passion and Glamour recorded sales of 79,778 units (26.17 percent) and 77,589 units (up 3.33 percent YoY) respectively.

Data: Courtesy SIAM 

Also read: 2-Wheeler market share analysis for April-July 2017

India Sales: Top 10 Passenger Vehicles – July 2017 | A Maruti and Hyundai show of strength