Bajaj Auto, Honda sales surge in November

Bajaj Auto, India’s second largest bike maker, today posted a growth of 84 per cent in motorcycle sales in November at 242,390 units, against a dismal tally of 131,681 units recorded in the same month a year ago.

The Discover brand, which includes Discover 135 and 100, added more than 94,000 to the total, while the Pulsar brand — including 150, 180 and 220 models — contributed little more than 50,000 units, a release from the Pune-based company stated. Sales of the company in November last year were hit hard by the economic downturn, lesser availability of two-wheeler finance and intense competition from Hero Honda and Yamaha.

 

Exports, which include two and three wheelers, grew 46 per cent during the same month at 98,521 units, compared with 67,397 units. Bajaj Auto is now gearing up to launch a new sub-150cc Pulsar on December 9, which will be the company’s smallest Pulsar in terms of engine size. The bike is expected to be priced below Rs 60,000, according to company officials.

Meanwhile, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, the country’s fourth largest two wheeler manufacturer, registered a growth of 13 per cent in November sales at 113,489 units, against 100,162 units.

The company sold 63,004 scooters and 37,158 motorcycles during the month.

HMSI recently opened operations at its third assembly line at its facility in Manesar, Haryana, which will increase its capacity to 1.5 million units on an annualised basis. The company is forced to increase capacity at a quick pace to avoid further piling up of bookings and reduce the waiting period on a number of its models.

The company had been operating at half the capacity after being hit by a labour strike, which lasted for almost two months. The company makes Activa, Aviator, Dio, CBF Stunner, Shine and Unicorn models.

Ford to hike prices
Sales of the Chennai-based Ford India grew 13.5 per cent to 2,520 units for the reporting month, compared with 2,219 units in the same month last year.

Ford, which is gearing up to launch its compact car Ford Figo in January, also stated today that it will be hiking prices of all its models in January. The upward price revision is due to a steady rise in input costs and exchange rate fluctuations, the company said.