The Honda Activa continues to sell in high numbers leaving behind the Hero Splendor by 1.97 lakh units in FY17.
Trailing behind motorcycles for three and a half decades, a scooter brand has managed to establish itself as India’s largest selling two-wheeler, ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the Honda Activa! The Activa took the lead in the year 2015-16 and since then there has been no looking back for the brand. It left behind the Hero Splendor by a staggering 1.97 lakh units in FY17.
The birth of scooters dates back to 1948 when Bajaj Auto came with their scooter and since then, till the mid-1980s, scooters enjoyed dominance. In between came in the Lambretta, LML Piaggio, Pushpak, etc. The same era, saw the birth of India’s first gearless scooter, the Kinetic Honda. But the foreign joint ventures in motorcycles and most of them being fuel efficient, threatened the scooter market. Until the Activa arrived in the year 2000, the scooter market was struggling to do better numbers.
The demand for scooters is highly increasing in India, and the growth rate posted by the scooters as against motorcycles is self-explanatory. There are various factors that have led to the scooters’ domination. The very first being the ease of use and a good fuel efficiency figure, growing number of women buyers, better rural roads and a preferred choice by the active elderly population.
With scooters now penetrating into the rural and semi-urban markets, Honda is confident of holding on to the number one position. Honda currently has a 60 percent market share in the scooters’ market and only 14 percent in the motorcycle segment.
10 Highest Selling 2-Wheelers
– Honda Activa – 27,59,835 units
– Hero Splendor – 25,50,830 units
– Hero HF Deluxe – 14,08,356 units
– TVS XL Super – 8,90,367 units
– Hero Passion – 8,70,382 units
– Honda CB Shine – 7,49,026 units
– Hero Glamour – 7,43,798 units
– TVS Jupiter – 6,13,817 units
– Bajaj’s Pulsar – 5,82,912 units
– Bajaj’s CT100 – 4,52,712 units
