The Bajaj Pulsar continues to lead the pack even though sales have seen a significant drop compared to the previous month.
Easily the most popular segment in the country, the 150cc space manages to keep its numbers positive with a total of 1,14,355 units sold last month. A mix of commuter, sporty and premium offerings, the 150cc space witnesses the presence of almost every mainstream manufacturer. With the numbers being positive since the beginning of this financial year, we take a look at the sales report for June 2015 and see which model was appreciated by the masses and which one needs some introspection.
On a month-on-month basis, the Bajaj Pulsar 150 (includes Pulsar 135 LS) saw a stark drop in sales with 36,846 units moving out of showrooms, compared to 40,142 sold in May this year. This despite the fact that the Pulsar AS 150 is the newest offering in this segment and also offers certain segment first features. The drop though has been contrary to the bike’s otherwise positive sales over the previous months. In addition to the Pulsar, the Bajaj Discover 150 also saw a 34 percent drop in sales compared to last month, while moving down the list to eighth position.
The second best-seller in the segment continues to be the TVS Apache 160 (includes RTR 180) with 22,319 units sold. Despite new competition coming in, the popularity for the Chennai based automaker’s flagship offering refuses to diminish with the Apache being a consistent seller offering a high revving engine, potent riding dynamics and a value for money quotient. Compared to May this year, sales were up by 2 percent for June 2015.
The Unicorn brand is a strong performer for Honda with the new CB Unicorn 160 coming in third on the list with 17,434 units sold in June. Sales though took a slight dip of 8 percent over the previous month. However, the CB Unicorn 160 was the only positive performer in Honda’s lineup. Most of the automaker’s products rested at bottom positions on the list at 12, 13 and 15 respectively. The capable yet overpriced CBR150R sold 781 units, while the CB Trigger sold a mere 4 units last month. 26 units of the old Unicorn 150 were also cleared in June.
A fairly young player, Suzuki is doing well with the Gixxer (including SF) in the 150cc space at the fifth spot with 5796 units sold. Sales though were down by 8 percent. The company’s dud seller the GS150R continues to go unnoticed in the 150cc commuter space with just 11 units pushed out last month. That said, Suzuki still has some catching up to do with the Gixxer and SF, if it wishes to beat compatriot, the Yamaha FZ.
Speaking of which, the FZ continues strongly at the fourth spot with 16,482 units sold, up by 15 percent this June over May 2015. Yamaha’s strong brand value can be determined by the fact that the YZF-R15 continues to be a strong performer in the premium end, even though the new premium Pulsar RS 200 has affected its sales, albeit only marginally. The SZ, on the other hand saw sales grow last month by a healthy 30 percent on a month-on-month basis (thanks to Version 2.0).
The arrival of the Hero Xtreme Sport that was launched last month seems to have taken the buyer’s fancy as sales for the bike were up by 38 percent in June over May this year. The Achiever too has done well for the automaker over the previous month. However, the Hero Hunk showed a marginal drop in sales while sales for the Impulse were zilch. Hero still has a lot of catching up to do in the 150cc segment.
