August 2015 was a fairly positive month for most two-wheeler manufacturers with Bajaj and TVS holding steady ground even as Hero and Honda witness slumping sales for their performance motorcycles.
The increasingly popular affordable performance two-wheeler segment and is only set to grow in the coming years as well with newer products and more sophisticated technology all set to enter this space. The first step towards performance products for the enthusiasts, the segment is ruled by Indian manufacturers that manage to marry power and affordability in a highly compelling package. For August 2015, TVS topped the charts again selling 23,899 units of the Apache 160cc and 180cc models. The sales have picked up by 35% compared to July this year and have grown by 67% over the same period last year. With the company readying up the new Apache 200 for launch this November, TVS will continue to dominate in terms of volumes.
Bajaj Auto too has been doing well with the Pulsar lineup with the Avenger dominating the sales chart. The Bajaj Pulsar 180, RS 200 and AS 200 cumulatively sold 10,685 units this August, doing around 300 units more compared to July 2015, while the volumes saw a healthy 42 percent hike compared to the same month last year. The Avenger never ceases to impress in the automaker’s lineup and did a consistent 3733 units last month. Not surprisingly anymore, the previous generation Pulsar 220F continues to be the mass favourite and individually sold 6507 units in August this year.
Coming to the Japanese offerings, Yamaha holds on to the fifth spot with the YZF-R15 that is again a consistent seller with 2188 units moved out in August 2015. Despite a marginal dip after the Pulsar RS 200’s launch, sales for the R15 have bounced back again in recent months and are all set to go up with the R15-S (pre-facelift model) in the pipeline gearing up for a re-launch this festive season. Work on the R15 V3.0 is also underway with the model spotted testing in Thailand recently but will arrive only next year.
Honda takes the last spot as the CBR250R sold a paltry 286 units last month; whereas the CBR150R did considerably better with 809 units sold (774 units were shipped in July 2015). While Honda does have new colour upgrades for the CBR twins scheduled for launch in the following weeks, we don’t see them making much of a difference in terms of volumes. The only performance product from Hero fails to impress on the sales front as the Karizma R and ZMR sold 333 units in August this year. For perspective, the same models sold 4232 units in August 2014, which only showcases how disappointing the facelift has turned out to be.
