The Hero MotoCorp stock was down 1.4 per cent, after the company reported a 34 per cent drop in two-wheeler sales to 0.34 million units for December. The cash crunch and the maintenance shutdown led to weak numbers last month. For the calendar year 2016, the company posted a four per cent growth rate, due to record sales in the festive season with retail sales during that period crossing the million mark.

Analysts estimate that Hero MotoCorp, that has sold five million units in this financial year till date, will end FY17 with slightly more volumes than in FY16.

What aggravated the situation for Hero due to the note ban over the last couple of months is the low finance penetration with only a third of its sales being done via loans. The reason, according to analysts at Macquarie Capital, for lower finance penetration for Hero compared to the other two wheeler makers is its higher exposure to the rural markets. Half of the company’s two wheeler sale