Scooter sales zoom ahead of bikes

The scooter, the quintessential middle-class status symbol (remember the iconic Chetak!) until the Maruti 800 dominated the roads and car-making surged post-1991, is now riding high, with an over 20 per cent rise in annual sales last year.

The two-wheeler segment is the most vibrant in the automobile industry. Though the number of motorcycles sold outnumbers scooters, the rate of growth of scooter sales is much higher.

“The scooter market is poised for big growth in India, going by the rapid increase in sales in recent years,” Sarosh Shetty, vice-president (marketing) of Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd, told

The scooter is marking a big presence on the roads in southern and western India, he said. Nearly 70 per cent of scooters are sold in seven States. New brands and models are hitting the road frequently, posing competition to other two-wheelers. About three lakh scooters are sold every month. Nationally, scooters make up a fourth of the two-wheeler market, but in some States such as Kerala, they are neck-and-neck with motorbikes. “The two-wheeler market is resilient and beats economic downturns, and the scooter market is booming,” Shetty said. “Scooter sales have not been impacted much by economic fluctuations as the scooter is considered a necessity rather than a comfort, and a family vehicle at that.”

How did the scooter regain the middle-class imagination? “It was the better styling, new technologies, fuel efficiency and marketing strategies, apart from the rise in people’s standard of living,” Shetty said. Modern styling, particularly Italian designs, have helped a lot.

The introduction of auto-start was the best thing that happened to the scooter market. This helped to fulfil the aspirations of women and youth. Until then, the scooter was a male thing and kicking to start the vehicle put it out of consideration for women and young persons.

The positioning of the modern, auto-start scooter as an all-purpose family vehicle was an important factor. But, when the auto-start tended to be perceived as catering to women, manufacturers began making drastic styling changes. For instance, Mahindra’s new scooter Gusto has a muscular styling.

The absence of good roads in rural areas, inadequate public transport and ease of operation have also contributed to the fast growth of the industry, Shetty said.