India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp’s domestic sales continued their year-on-year decline in February, marking a fourth consecutive month of lower dealership dispatches.
The automaker dispatched 3.57 lakh two-wheelers in February to the Indian market, down 20% from 4.45 lakh units in the year-ago period. Sales had declined 2%, 22% and 8% in January, December, and November, respectively.
Interestingly, during this period, retail sales of two-wheelers have been in the positive territory, according to FADA, with growth of 16%, 11% and 4% respectively. However, Hero MotoCorp reduced its dispatches during this period.
Automakers reduce dealership dispatches when inventories exceed average levels or when the market outlook is bleak.
However, Hero MotoCorp’s management has been saying that it is optimistic about the growth prospects of the two-wheeler industry, that and its inventory at the end of December was at its desired level of 4 weeks at the dealers’ end.
With declining volumes, Hero MotoCorp is facing increasing pressure on its share in the domestic market. The largest two-wheeler maker in the world, Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India, has been significantly narrowing the market share gap with Hero MotoCorp in this financial year.
The automaker’s share in domestic market dispatches declined to 28.8% during the April- December period from 30.4% in the previous year. Data shared by the FADA also reflects market share pressure, with a decline to 29% in the calendar year 2024 from 31.3% in 2023.
Hero MotoCorp's total two-wheeler dispatches during February, including domestic and exports, declined 17% on year to 3.88 lakh units. Exports, however, rose 33% on year to 30,772 units.
Most of the pain was seen in motorcycle sales, which fell 19%, while total scooter sales improved 14%. While traditionally strong on the entry-level side, Hero MotoCorp has been focusing more on improving its presence in the premium side of the motorcycle business as well as on the scooter side.
On the electric vehicle side, Hero MotoCorp’s Vida brand dispatched 6,200 electric scooters.