Two-wheelers firms wobble in December

Two-wheeler companies ended the year on a wobbly note as December sales failed to keep up with the year-long euphoria.

Sales of Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors have skid 13 per cent and 5 per cent respectively last month.

But market leader Hero Honda, though it failed to score a hatrick by clocking sales of 2 lakh units for the third month in a row, beat the December sluggishness and registered an increase of 28 per cent by selling 1,60,191 motorcycles.

Bajaj's sales, which have been on an upswing for a long time now, took a hit this month mainly owing to a steep fall in scooter sales.

Bajaj's scooter sales slid 53.6 per cent in December and its motorcycle sales posted a marginal increase at 3.78 per cent. Bajaj sold 85,065 units in December 2003 compared with 98,025 units in the same month of the previous year.

The total two wheeler sales of TVS Motor Company in December 2003 showed an 5 per cent decline at 84,306 units compared with 88,682 units sold in the same period of the previous year.