Two-wheeler sales continue to skid in February

Two-wheeler sales continued to decline in February due to lack of demand and switch to BS-VI-compliant models. Sales were also hit due to the impact of the corona virus outbreak on the supply chain.

Except Royal Enfield and Suzuki Motorcycle India, leading companies including Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto reported decline in sales in February on year-on-year (YoY) basis.

The country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp reported a decline of 19 per cent to 4,98,242 units during the month against 6,17,215 units in corresponding month last year.

“The ongoing COVID-19 issue had adversely impacted production at the manufacturing facilities of Hero MotoCorp in the month of February. Since then, substantial progress has been made in developing alternative sources for procuring components. Meanwhile, the component makers in China, having restarted production, are also expected to resume normal supplies soon,” the company said.

In February, Hero MotoCorp commenced the dispatches of five new BS-VI products including some of its key products like the Splendor+, Super Splendor, Glamour and Passion Pro motorcycles and Maestro Edge 125 and Destini 125 scooters, it added.

Bajaj Auto also reported a decline of 21 per cent YoY during the month to 1,46,876 units as compared with 60,066 units in February 2019.

Similarly, Tamil Nadu based TVS Motor Company reported domestic sales of 1,69,684 units last month, down 27 per cent as compared with 231582 units in February last year.

However, both Royal Enfield and Suzuki Motorcycle India saw a growth of around 2 per cent in their domestic sales in February. While Royal Enfield sales grew at 61,188 units (versus 60,066 units) during the month, Suzuki’s sales were up at 58,644 units (against 57,174 units).