Two-wheeler firms ride past car makers with better sales growth in June

Hero MotoCorp leads the two-wheeler brigade with 13% rise in motorbike sales, 22% in scooters

Two-wheeler makers had a ride different to the car manufacturers in June. Against a double digit decline in sale of passenger vehicles, most two-wheeler makers reported a growth. The June performance is led by country's biggest two-wheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp. Hero, TVS, Royal Enfield and Suzuki have reported a strong double digit growth in sales last month. A price cut from July after GST is expected to expand the market further.

Hero MotoCorp, which sells every third two-wheeler in the country, reported a growth of over 13 per cent in sales. Its motorcycle volume surged 13 per cent to 547,185 units while scooter sales rose 22 per cent to 77,000 units. Its stock rose more than two per cent to Rs 3,777 at the BSE. The company said growth in motorcycles was supported by wedding season demand.

Its closest competitor and former partner, Honda has clocked a four per cent growth in sales to 444,713 units. The company is country's second largest two-wheeler player. Numbers for Hero and Honda also include exports.

TVS Motor, the third largest two-wheeler maker, saw its domestic sales grow over ten per cent to 228,518 units in June. Scooter sales grew by 34 per cent to 90,448 units while motorcycles expanded by 17 per cent to 112,146 units. Bajaj Auto is the only company among the leading players to have reported a double digit drop. Its domestic sales slipped 36 per cent to 108,109 units in June. Royal Enfield has clocked a 25 per cent growth in June sales.

"Healthy demand due to the ongoing marriage season coupled with upbeat rural sentiments due to projections of a normal and well-spread monsoon for the second consecutive year led to growth," said Bharat Gianani, research analyst (auto and auto ancillaries) at Sharekhan.