April, a month which is also very critical for manufacturers to show off how much they sold and how volumes are going. Some manufacturers try very hard to show sensational numbers in the last month of the financial year to impress shareholders and critics while some follow the usual way and try their best to move out the inventory and sell rather than going the “wholesale” way. Who has done what? We analyse numbers for you to see how the number game spins.
Hero MotoCorp – Growing stronger while silently launching motorcycles is what’s happening at Hero. Many motorcycles are being launched and most of them are commuters. So there is no prize for guessing how Hero has reached close to the 6 lakh number yet again after the Diwali dhamaka. A healthy growth of 8.9% on MoM basis and 14.4% growth on YoY basis marks a strong impact on the market and also showing signs that the market will grow in the second quarter, a statement made by Hero sometime back. We are still waiting for performance motorcycles even after the official announcement in Feb 2014.
Honda – Like we said in the beginning, some manufacturer tried real hard to show good numbers in the last month of the new fiscal year and one of them was Honda. Down by 19.94% on MoM basis clearly shows how the stock pile was cleared up at year end in the name of Gudi Padwa. No doubt all of them were sold to consumers as well but still the MoM drop says a lot and marks a man’s word right who said about this strategy long time back. YoY is always impressive and pretty much genuine as always with 21% growth.
Bajaj Auto – Bajaj is just shy of selling three lakh motorcycles. Past 3-4 months was a consistent 2.5, 2.7 lakh units but the numbers have increased after a certain Discover was launched and not to forget new colour schemes on the Pulsars. All this results in a 10% growth on MoM basis and 0.39% growth on YoY basis. Let us not forget many commuter and high end motorcycles are 100% scheduled for launch this year. Bajaj is ‘Ready to Rise’ with KTM.
TVS – Yet again TVS is selling more motorcycles than scooters despite being a strong scooter company. Star City+ is here to add to that even more as it is a very promising commuter motorcycle from TVS. Jupiter still commands genuine waiting period due to high demand and shows impressive growth, being at the top of its game. A healthy increase of 3.26% on MoM basis and 15% YoY increase, is a good sign.
Mahindra – Riding high on the success of the Centuro, Mahindra continues to show strong numbers but this time they are down by 21.40% on MoM basis by shipping out roughly 4000 units less than last month. Last year Mahindra did not reveal sales numbers so we are speaking with our estimates (just like we do for Suzuki) we assume they have witnessed growth of 213% on YoY basis. New products which include scooters and motorcycles promise a healthy future for the Mumbai based manufacturer.
Yamaha – The Alpha and Ray are helping Yamaha grow stronger and stronger. Volume bikes are working well due to them being well engineered products and Yamaha being a trusted brand over the years. As always FZ and R15 have been getting good dose of special editions and colours which keep the sales momentum going on and on. R25 does not seem far away now and the twin-cylinder 250/300cc motorcycles is on its way to our shores. Expect good pricing and a product which will change your mindset towards quarter-litre motorcycles.
Suzuki – Our good friends at Suzuki release sales numbers once a year but we are confident that once Let’s and Gixxer come, they will be sending out sales data more often because those products are extremely promising and Suzuki says pricing is going to be awesome too. Inazuma is here doing minuscule numbers (only 200 units sold so far) but shows what Suzuki can do if they want to get aggressive.
| Sr. No | Company | Bike/Scooter | Mar-14 | Apr-14 | MoM | YoY |
| 1 | Bajaj | Bike | 270591 | 299636 | 10.70% | 0.39% |
| 2 | Hero MotoCorp | Bike+Scooter | 524028 | 571054 | 18.90% | 14.40% |
| 3 | Honda | Scooter | 202057 | 175837 | ||
| Bike | 190091 | 138105 | ||||
| Total | 392148 | 313942 | -19.94% | 21% | ||
| 4 | Mahindra | Bike+Scooter | 18953 | 14896 | -21.40% | 213% |
| 5 | Suzuki | Bike+Scooter | 30594 | 30000 | ||
| 6 | TVS | Bike | 68158 | 73636 | ||
| Scooter | 47766 | 46069 | ||||
| Total | 115924 | 119705 | 3.26% | 15% | ||
| 7 | Yamaha | Bike+Scooter | 46052 | 51158 | 11.08% | 42% |
| Total | 1398290 | 1400391 |