While Hero MotoCorp continued its strong sales growth, Kawasaki suffered the most retailing just 131 units in the month of November.
The last year was certainly one of the more interesting ones for two-wheeler manufacturers as the market was more positive than ever. This growth also came at a time when car makers were struggling to maintain momentum in sales due to the overall downward market sentiment, which makes the sales even more applauding. As 2015 breaks in, promising positive sales and a host of new launches, we take a look back at the performance of two-wheeler manufacturers in the last quarter of 2014 for the month of November.
Hero – Posting clock work like sales month after month, Hero MotoCorp continued to maintain the numero uno position in November 2014. However in comparison to October, the company’s sales suffered marginally, witnessing a de-growth of 6.74 percent. The two-wheeler giant continued to dominate in the commuter space with its extensive range of motorcycles and scooters during the month with the Splendor being Hero’s best selling model with 2,04,919 units sold. Coming to December, the company sold 5,26,097 units retaining the momentum, while 66,45,787 units were sold throughout the calendar year.
Honda – Marching up to erstwhile partner Hero, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is rapidly growing on to become the choice of the masses. With Honda’s Dream series competing against Hero’s commuter range, the Japanese giant witnessed a meagre drop of 2.19 percent in sales for November, as compared to October last year. The Activa continued to be Honda’s best selling model retailing 1,91,175 units, a decent 20,000 units more than it sold in October, while the Shine 125 was the second most selling model for the month.
TVS – One of the most consistent sellers in 2014, TVS saw a sharp decline in sales witnessing a fall of 12.15 percent in November, over the previous month. Nonetheless, the manufacturer did post impressive numbers during the month and outnumbered biggie Bajaj Auto by a good 50,000 units. The company has been riding on a strong portfolio of commuters and scooters that bring in the majority of sales, while its premium range has been rather sluggish to move out of showrooms.
Bajaj – Undoubtedly one of the biggest losers on the list, Bajaj Auto had a disappointing 2014 and the same was visible in November sales as well. While the Pulsar series and new Discover 150 models have posted positive individual sales, the company’s overall sales plummeted by a whopping 37.5 percent in November, compared to sales in October. The month also saw Bajaj retail a scarce 5549 units in the commuter space as against the 14,039 units sold during the same period last year. The new year however promises to be more commuter friendly for the company with the Platina 100 and a new Discover 125 scheduled for launch.
Yamaha – The company has been a strong seller in the 150cc segment because it doesn’t have any other high-selling product in the market, except 150cc motorcycles. The R15 continues its decent run while the FZ has been doing very well too. The decline in sales could be due to the new Suzuki Gixxer which is likely to be eating into the FZ’s volumes. Scooter sales continue to be good for Yamaha although not class leading.
Suzuki – Coming sixth on the list, Suzuki saw sales decline in November by 9.45 percent. The drop comes despite the manufacturer’s two new launches including the Let’s and Gixxer 155 for the year. That being said, the Japanese automaker has been aggressive about its plans for the domestic market and has a new commuter motorcycle and scooter in the works, while the full-faired Gixxer 155 will boost the company’s sales in the premium space.
Royal Enfield – The Chennai based manufacturer certainly has grown fast throughout the year. Maintaining positive growth, Royal Enfield turned out to be the only mainstream manufacturer to gain positive sales of 6.61 percent in November, compared to that of October 2014. With waiting periods escalating with every model, the manufacturer’s determined growth is expected to carry over this year as well.
Mahindra – The newest entrant in the two-wheeler space, Mahindra is still away from seeing positive growth with just the Centuro 110cc commuter and a handful of scooters as part of its lineup. The manufacturer sales saw drop by a drastic 40.27 percent in November as compared to that in October. While its motorcycle sales plummeted by a significant margin, Mahindra’s scooter range saw sales grow with the new Gusto managing to bring in the numbers.
Piaggio & Harley-Davidson – Retailing the very niche Vespa scooters, Piaggio too witnessed a sales fall by 24 percent, while Harley-Davison saw sales drop by 11.11 percent. Harley’s most significant launch for 2014 has been the Street 750 that is generating most numbers, while most of its other offerings are priced in the uber premium space.
Triumph & Kawasaki – The only manufacturers to make rank changing growth in November, both Triumph and Kawasaki saw sales witness a hike of 18.42 percent and 3.14 percent respectively with their plethora of high performance offerings. The growth for Triumph is not surprising, considering the detuning issue came to light by the end of November and could affect December sales. Kawasaki on the other hand has been rather neutral throughout the year on the sales chart and is slowly climbing the ladder but not at the pace of its rivals.
