The Hindu Business Line : Diwali brightens two-wheeler sales

The festive season of Diwali has lit up sales of two-wheelers with dealers experiencing shortages of certain entry-level bikes that were on discount. This could well spell hope for the industry that has seen an 8.5 per cent decline in sales in the first half of the current fiscal. High interest rates and lack of easy finance had turned away consumers from the two-wheeler segment.

“Dhanteras is one of the biggest days. And this season about 60,000-70,000 two wheeler deliveries would have taken place on this day by the most conservative estimates. The Dhanteras sales would have been marginally higher compared with last year and retail sales would have been 30 per cent more than last month,” said Mr N.R. Narayan, Group Business Head, Vehicle Finance, ICICI Bank.

Sales rose on the auspicious days during Diwali, especially on Dhanteras, when consumers prefer new purchases. On the Dhanteras day itself, ICICI Bank, the largest player in the vehicle finance industry, is estimated to have sold about 40,000 two-wheelers against 3,000 it sells on an average day and 75,000-80,000 in a month. For the bank, the number is estimated to have been higher by 3,000 units this year compared to the Dhanteras day last year.

Also reaping benefits from the festival was largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda Motorcycles, which used the discount route to rope in entry level customers.

“This festival season we saw a good positive growth over last year. It was our effort to bring in entry-level customers and expand the market by offering discounts. Demand outstripped supply,” said Mr Anil Dua, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Hero Honda.

For Bajaj too, it was a bonanza. “We ran out of stocks of Platina and XCD for almost half of the dealers. We are expecting to cross our last month’s mark on the back of sales clocked in the first two weeks of this month,” said Mr Amit Nandi, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Bajaj Auto.

Mr Nandi said that it would take at least 10 days to meet the current demand due to production constraint. A Delhi-based leading dealer of Hero Honda said, “As compared to last year, sales are up by 30 per cent and if you compare it with last month, sales have gone up by 50 per cent. Some models are out of stock like CD Deluxe, Splendor NXG and even the newly launched Hunk for which the waiting period is 10-15 days.”

Another city dealer for Hero Honda, who opened shop only a few months ago, said, “On an average we sell 150-160 models in a month. This month we have sold about 300 in the first 15 days and expect sales to increase to 400 by the end of the month.”