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Murali Gopalan

Mumbai, Dec. 2

At a time when most two-wheeler manufacturers have their backs to the wall, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has seen November sales rise nearly 40 per cent compared with the same month last year.

The wholly owned arm of Honda Motor Corporation of Japan is confident that it will surpass its targeted production levels of one million units this fiscal.

“We hope to close at a figure of at least 50,000 units more,” company officials told Business Line.

HMSI ended November with 100,162 units, comprising 63,004 scooters and 37,158 motorcycles. The corresponding month last year saw sales total 72,085 units with scooters accounting for 49,277 and motorcycles a mere 22,808 units.

In the process, the company’s market share in the two-wheeler segment has grown from 10 per cent to nearly 13 per cent.

What is significant is that Hero Honda and HMSI sold nearly 3.9 lakh two-wheelers in November, while Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor posted total sales of 2.3 lakh units. In other words, the two Honda entities account for a combined share of nearly 63 per cent in the two-wheeler market which put them way ahead of the pack. Sources say HMSI “poses a serious threat” to both Bajaj and TVS in the domestic market.

The company has always been the clear leader in the gearless scooter market ever since it launched the 100cc Activa less than a decade ago.

HMSI, however, did not make a promising start in motorcycles and the 150cc Unicorn, touted to be the challenger to the Bajaj Pulsar, only flattered to deceive. However, the two offerings in the 125cc segment, the Shine and Stunner, have been doing steady business of 30,000 units monthly.

According to company officials, HMSI is finding it difficult to cope with demand for the Stunner.

At present, 10,000 bikes are produced a month of which 2,000 units are shipped out to Europe. Plans are afoot to increase monthly output to 12,000 motorcycles from January.

More Stories on : Two/Three Wheelers | Performance | Trends

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