Two-wheeler sales see big yearly jump

Higher sales in rural India and introduction of several new models resulted in a 28.6 per cent jump in total two-wheeler sales in the country (barring Bajaj Auto, whose numbers are expected on Friday) in March at 7,54,874 units, compared to 5,87,128 units during the same month last year.

For the year ended March 31, total two-wheeler sales (excluding Bajaj Auto and Suzuki Motorcycle India) went up by 21.6 per cent at 7,682,253 units vis-à-vis 6,319,013 units in 2008-09.

Hero Honda Motors, the country’s largest two-wheeler manufacture, registered a 17 per cent jump in March sales at 4,14,638 units, as against 3,53,342 units in March 2009. Sales of Chennai-based TVS Motors went up 24 per cent at 1,46,736 units last month vis-a-vis 1,18,000 units during the same month last year.
 

VROOM!
Company	March ‘09	March ‘10	Growth (%)
Hero Honda	3,53,342	4,14,638	17
TVS Motors	1,18,000	1,46,736	24
HMSI	81,865	1,44,288	76.3
India Yamaha Motor	21,571	27,460	27
Suzuki Motorcycle India	12,350	21,752	76.1
Total	5,87,128	7,54,874	28.6

Hero Honda launched nine new models across segments in 2009-10, including the new CD Dawn and CD Deluxe, introduced last month. As a result, its two-wheeler sales in 2009-10 jumped 23.6 per cent to 4,600,130 units vis-à-vis 3,722,000 units in the preceding year.

Hero Honda had in February surpassed the target of selling four million units during the financial year. “FY’10 was another remarkable year for (us). With sales of over 4.6 million units, Hero Honda has not only handsomely crossed the target sales for the year but also created a new sales record,” said Pawan Munjal, managing director and CEO.

The company expects to repeat the same good performance in 2010-11, while adopting a number of new initiatives, he added. “We will aggressively expand our presence across new rural, urban and export markets. We are also looking at setting up our fourth plant in the near future,” said Munjal.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) registered a 76.3 per cent jump in March sales at 1,44,288 units, as compared to 81,865 units in March 2009. “For the financial year 2010-11, we have set a target of selling over 1.5 million units, which would be a growth of 18 per cent over 2009-10,” the company said in a statement.

In 2009-10, HMSI had taken a major stride in the mass motorcycle segment by introducing its first bike, the CB Twister, in the 100-110 cc category. It has been revamping its products and introduced new variants, besides launching the CB1000R in the superbike category.