Two-wheeler sales in the fast lane

Hero Moto Corp has reported that its domestic sales for August increased by 4.55 percent. The company sold 4,50,740 units during the month, up from 4,31,137 units in August 2021. Sales of motorcycles increased last month to 4,30,799 units from 4,20,609 units the year before, while sales of scooters decreased to 31,809 units from 33,270 units in the same period.

Overall, Hero MotoCorp has reported a 1.92 percent increase in total sales at 4,62,608 units in August 2022. The company sold 4,53,879 units in the year-ago period, Hero MotoCorp said in a regulatory filing. On the export front, the OEM saw sales decline to 11,868 units from 22,742 units in the corresponding period of last year.

TVS Motor Company recorded a  15 percent in its August 2022 with sales of 333,787 units as against 290,694 units in August 2021.  In the two-wheelers segment, it registered a growth of 15 percent  in August 2022 with sales increasing from 274,313 units in August 2021 to 315,539 units in August 2022. Domestic two-wheeler registered growth of 33 percent with sales increasing from 179,999 units in August 2021 to 239,325 units in August 2022.  The sales tally in July 2022 was 299,658 units.

Motorcycles saw a growth of 17 percent with sales increasing from 133,789 units in August 2021 to 157,118 units in August 2022. Scooter registered a growth of 40 percent with sales increasing from 87,059 units in August 2021 to 121,866 units in August 2022. 

With positive market sentiments and the upcoming festive season, TVS hopes to see the numbers rise as chips supplies have improved, the company said. TVS sold 4,418 units of TVS iQube Electric during the month as against sales of 649 units in August 2021. The company’s July 2022 sales were in the region of 6,000 units

TVS’s exports touched 93,111 units in August 2022 as against sales of 109,927 units in August 2021.  Two-wheeler exports fell 19 percent  to 76,214 units in August 2022 as against 94,314 units in August 2021. 

Bajaj Auto (sales 1,72,595, up 49 percent)

On the back of better pricing and a realigned product mix strategy, Bajaj Auto's domestic sales increased by 49 percent from 1,72,595 units in August 21 to 2,56,755 units in August 2022. Overall, the Pune-based automaker recorded an 8 percent growth in total sales at 4,01,595 units (including commercial vehicles) in August 2022 compared to 3,73,270 units sold in August 2021.

The year-to-date (YTD) sales of the company are lower by 3 percent at 16,89,911 units compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Bajaj Auto's total two-wheelers sales rose 5 percent to 3,55,625 units while total commercial vehicle sales rose 31 percent to 45,970 units in August 2022 over August 2021.

A 28 percent decline in exports to 1,44,840 units hit the company's earnings with consolidated net profit declining marginally to Rs 1,163.33 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal from Rs 1,170.17 crore posted in Q1 FY22.

HMSI  (462,523, + 7 percent) 
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India overall sold 4,62,523 two-wheelers last month, registering a 7 percent year-on-year growth of which domestic sales  were 423,216 units and 39,307 were total exports as compared to 431,594 units and 30,114 exports in August 21.

In its two-wheeler core business the company introduced Activa 6G Premium Edition, Dio Sports Edition, and Shine Celebration Edition with an eye to having a wider product portfolio during the festive period.

The company is also eyeing the 100 cc commuter segment dominated by Hero Moto Corp's Splendor motorcycle and also has plans to consolidate its position in the 250 cc segment where it has four variants as compared  to three variants for Hero Moto Corp

HMSI has sold over 60,000 units of its above 250cc bikes in India during the last 18 months, media reports suggest. With the recently introduced CB300F, the company plans to take on BMW G 310 R, KTM Duke 250, Bajaj Dominar 400, in the 250 +cc categories. Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said, “Market performance is gaining steady momentum against previous month as well as a year-on-year basis."

Suzuki Motorcycle India  ( 79,559 + 8.3 percent)
Suzuki Motorcycle India has recorded overall sales of 79,559 units in August 2022, registering a year-on-year sales growth of 8.3 percent as compared to August 2021. The company sold 64,654 units in the domestic market and exported 14,905 units in August 2022.

It recently launched its iconic motorcycle Katana in India which is claims is generating a lot of interest amongst aficionados. With the introduction of Katana, Suzuki Motorcycle India now has 3 big bikes in its portfolio, Suzuki Hayabusa, Suzuki Katana and Suzuki V-Strom 650XT.

Satoshi Uchida, Managing Director, Suzuki Motorcycle India said, “With the festive season approaching, we look forward to an overall positive market scenario in terms of demand and supply. Considering, the gradual improvement in the availability of semiconductors, we are confident that the company will be able to retain this sales momentum.”

Royal Enfield  (70,122 units, + 53 percent)

Royal Enfield’s cumulative domestic and export sales for August 2022 surpassed the 70,000 units mark to touch 70,122 units, up by 53% from 45,860 units in August 2021. This smart increase has come on the back of strong growth in its core 350cc segment and its new Hunter series launched on August 8 for Rs 150,000.

The Chennai-based bikemaker’s domestic market sales rose 61% thanks to strong growth for brands like Royal Enfield Classic, Bullet, Meteor, Electra and Hunter to 62,236 units in August 2022 (August 2021: 38,572 units).

Exports also climbed steadily  by 8.1 percent from 7288 units in August 2021 to 7876 units in August 2022

Speaking about the sales performance, B Govindarajan, CEO, of Royal Enfield said that the Hunter 350 has added to incremental sales and the company has buoyant bookings with the new launches " With excellent reviews from experts across the globe and increasing consumer demand, we are confident that the Hunter will continue this momentum into the upcoming festive season in India. In the forthcoming months, we will see the Hunter 350 start sales across several international markets as well.”