Suzuki Motorcycle India reported a 28.50 per cent growth in March'12 sales

Sales Comparison & YoY analysis of Indian 2 Wheeler Manufacturers  for Mar'12

Automobile sales in March 2012 ended on a high note with a few two wheeler OEMs hitting all-time high sales volumes. Hero Moto Corp achieved its highest volume of 528290 numbers in the month. It also crossed the 60 Lakh sales volume for the first time in its history in this financial year (F12). 

Although the demand has been considerably high throughout the year, a certain amount of moderation is seen in the sector. However, the highlights of the month were -

1) Hero MotoCorp's sales were up 2.41% YoY at 528,290 units

2) Segment-wise Bajaj sold 300,848 units of motorcycles in Mar'12, up 10 per cent from 274,392 sold in the corresponding period of last year. History created - Pulsar cumulative sales exceeded 5 million units since launch. 

3) Honda reported 49.68 per cent jump in its total sales for March at 2,20,487 units compared to 1,47,301 units in the same month of 2011.
          a) company reported an increase of 69.69 per cent in scooter sales to 1,38,134 units last month from  81,402 units a year ago during the same month
          b)  motorcycle sales went up by 24.97 per cent to 82,353 units as against 65,899 units in March'11.

4) Yamaha reported a 14 per cent increase in its total sales at 41,886 units in March 2012.

5)  TVS Motor's two-wheeler sales witnessed a 3.48 per cent decline at 1,80,274 units from 1,86,781 units in the same month last year.

6) Suzuki Motorcycle India reported a 28.50 per cent growth in March'12 sales at 35,158 units.

Domestic Sales Figure of these OEMs -

Source - ET

Honda overtakes Bajaj in domestic 2 wheeler sales and emerges as the second-largest player in the country's two-wheeler market. Not so long back, in November 2011 Honda had overtaken TVS as the third largest 2-wheeler OEM in terms of volumes. Honda has been very aggressive in its strategy since its separation from Hero. It has already in plans to launch the splendor-competitor - 110 cc 'Dream Yuga' into the market which the company expects will tremendously increase its penetration in motorcycles.

Companies like Suzuki also have aggressive plans under its kitty - it has already launched its 125cc scooter named Swish and has fierce plans to fight out Honda's Activa in the category. Suzuki has also charted out to bring its 125 cc Hayate and believes that the segment has a huge potential to be tapped.

A look on the best selling models in F12 -

 Amongst all this competition, Hero Moto Corp has been successful in maintaining its market share and thus emerge as a true - 'Hero'. It has already tied-up with Erik Buell Racing to improve its technology and has vigorous investment plans to increase its R&D spend. It has even partnered with AVL for developing engines. With all this Hero Moto Corp hopes to hold its dominance in the Indian Market and effectively hinder competition's moves.

Let's view how the major 2 wheeler OEMs have fared in F12 and their respective market shares -

Bajaj is counting on increase in motorcycle sales for continuing its market stand. Its exit from scooter category is questionable and its weak presence in 100-125 cc has been Bajaj Auto's biggest pain point. But it is still confident with its dominance in executive/performance bikes segment. It recently launched KTM Duke 200 and Pulsar 200 NS to expand its product range in the category. With Duke coming in; it surely has a strong product in hand to compete against the R15's and the CBR's.