Two-wheeler makers ride high in June

Demand for two-wheelers from the stable of six of the eight domestic mobike manufacturers rose 16 per cent in June to over 880,000 units, compared to 761,000 units in June 2010. Analysts said the recent rise in petrol prices have propelled buyers to move to fuel-efficient two-wheelers.

Hero Honda, the country's biggest two-wheeler maker, recorded total sales of 512,224 units to dealers in June — up 20 per cent from 426,454 units in the year-ago period. The company has achieved sales of more than 500,000 units in each month of the last quarter.

Anil Dua, Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales), Hero Honda Motors, said: “The first quarter has set the pace for the rest of the financial year and has put us on course to surpass our guidance of six million sales for the fiscal.”

TVS Motors, the country's third biggest two-wheeler maker, posted a growth of 11 per cent to 155,296 units during the reporting month, compared to 139,905 units in June, last year.

Demand for TVS Motor's automatic range of scooters, including the Scooty and Wego grew 21 per cent to 44,281 units, while motorcycles grew to 69,859 units.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, the fourth biggest two-wheeler manufacturer in India, continued to be plagued with problems of production constraints but demand remained robust. The company posted a growth of two per cent in total sales (including exports) at 148,937 units during June, against 145,973 units in the same month last year.

India Yamaha Motors, the subsidiary company of Yamaha Motor Company, Japan, meanwhile, witnessed an increase of 29 per cent in the reporting month at 27,263 units, against 21,157 units in the same period last year.

Mahindra Two Wheeler also saw a growth of 16 per cent in sales of scooters at 11,748 units, compared to 10,017 units last year. The company sells four models of scooters.