The month of March is always met with a spur of activity in
the market place primarily because of the financial year ending. Manufacturers
and dealers throw open deals to make every purchase sweeter for the end
consumer. It was indeed a great year ending for the Indian 2 wheeler industry,
clocking a growth of 7.4% over Feb 2014 and a whopping 12% over March 2013.
This indeed is a positive sign for the auto industry when the country is
gripped in political drama! Let's have a look at the OEM and brand wise
performers:
Hero Moto Corp: Hero proves again why it is the largest 2
Wheeler manufacturer by clocking a 12% growth YoY and contributing to the
overall industry growth. There is a lot of buzz in the Hero camp with a slew of
products lined up this fiscal year primarily in the Commuter and Sports segment.
This should help Hero maintain its leadership position and sustain volumes
greater than 5 lakh units consistently. 82% of the volumes came from
Motorcycles which contribute only to 11% of growth whereas the scooters grew by
22.1%.
1. Bajaj Auto: The Chakan based
manufacturer is clearly struggling in a bullish 2 wheeler market. With hardly
1% growth YoY, is not great going in the Bajaj camp. They have cluttered the
market with various offerings in the Sports-commuter segment (125CC) and the
commuter segment. They are stretching the Discover brand name and with a lot of
offerings under the same umbrella, the consumer is confused rather than
excited. It seems, their flanking strategy is not working. Bajaj has plans to
give a minor facelift to the Pulsar in terms of new dual tone colour options
for the range. They have already done it for the 200NS which was launched with
a lot of ambition but is losing steam. Pulsar has been flat and discover which
is the major volume driver is still losing out to shine big time. This is
highlighted by the drop in MS in Executive segment by 4% for BAL.
HMSI: Honda is on a roll and
they continue to grow on their strong hold in the scooter segment. They are
very close to hitting the TWO LAKH mark in scooter sales which is a phenomenal
achievement. Along with this they have a share of 58% of the scooter market! In
sometime down the line HMSI is all set to threaten the “Hero” of 2 wheelers. With
the Launch of the Activa-i, the 125CC scooter, HMSI is all set to increase its
foothold in the scooter segment. However HMSI is facing trouble in the Premium
segment with the CBR twins and Unicorn losing steam because of KTMs stronghold.
But with HMSI all set to bring in a few more bikes courtesy its Japanese mother
company, the competition is set to heat up.
1. TVS Motors: The Chennai based
company seems to be focusing on motorcycles more than Scooters. However it has
tasted success with the Jupiter in the market which was fought by the Scooty
and Wego alone. Overall they have grown by 15.8% YoY which is a very positive
sign for the company. However the major cause of concern is that TVS is doing
nothing about the Apache which is fighting a losing battle in the Premium
segment. With competition heating up. TVS better do something quick! However
TVS volumes are still coming from the 2 wheels that drives the nation- MOPEDS.
They are the only company selling it but almost 50% of the volumes come from
this segment.
1.
Yamaha:
A company known to build one of the World’s best motorcycles is ironically
riding high on the success of the scooters that hit the market. The Alpha and
the Ray have contributed to 28.7% growth YoY! Not surprisingly 40% of Yamaha’s
sales have come from the Alpha. The FZ continues to be the Lord of the streets
and is challenging the dominance of Pulsar month on month. With the Quarter
litre bike(R25) from Yamaha teasing the media and the upgrades for the FZ and
the R15, the Indian consumer, am sure is waiting for Yamaha’s next move to make
a purchase decision!
Suzuki: Suzuki has been
struggling in India and yet they have managed to clock 28,475 units. 70% of
these numbers being clocked by a single scooter called Access is a sign that
Suzuki needs to do something real quick before the other entrants catch on!
However the launch of Inazuma is a part of a turn around story for Suzuki.
These guys have some of the World’s best motorcycles and they have the ability
to bring them to India.
2. Mahindra & Mahindra: M&M
breathed new life into the Executive segment with the Centuro that showcased
that the consumer can get some never before seen premium features without
paying a bomb for it! Kudos to that. M&M have managed to do good numbers
primarily because of this as the Scooter segment has crashed badly (49.6%
de-growth).
3. Royal Enfield: Since these guys
focus on a niche market I have not included them in the brand wise figures.
However the company managed to sell 23,170 bikes last month posting a healthy
90.9% growth.
( (Author's Profile: Manu
Sasidharan. Am a hardcore petrol head, an auto enthusiast and an amateur
designer. I have been in close touch with the industry for a long time and am
abreast with the action in the automotive sphere. Driving is my passion and
combined with a love for travelling makes me a nomad by nature. On the
education front, I have done my Engg in Electical and Electronics from Cochin
university and my Management studies from Symbiosis Pune.)
