350cc segment domestic sales on the backfoot in January 2022 at 27 percent decline
350cc motorcycle segment has an allure that’s hard to miss. For starters, sales are dominated by Royal Enfield. And then there’s Honda CB 350. For long even this minuscule sense of competition was unseen. But Royal Enfield has been smart about the segment despite there being no real competition on the face of it.
And while Honda has only entered the 350cc marketspace here recently, Royal Enfield has continued to be vigilant. With the entire 350cc segment standing tall on RE’s shoulders, the auto manufacturer continues to fortify its segment presence through a reinvigorated and expanded 350cc product lineup.
However, despite a steady introduction of new 350cc motorcycles, the segment is on the backfoot. Sales has contracted in recent months, and this is evident through continual low sales reports. In January 2022, segment size in the domestic market fell below 50k units. Sales are down to 48,452 units, down from 66,489 units YoY. Sales decline is reported at 27 percent. Volume loss stood at 18k units
350cc Motorcycle Sales Jan 2022 – RE Classic Leads
Classic 350 sales fell to 26,775 units, down from about 41k units. Volume loss stood at 14k units with sales decline at over a third. Meteor 350 sales were reported at just below 8.5k units, up from about 5k units. Volume growth stood at 3,387 units at sales growth of just over two-third.
Royal Enfield Bullet 350 sales fell by a little over a third at 36.44 percent. Sales are down to 7,354 units, down from 11,570 units. Volume loss stood at 4,216 units. Honda CB 350 sales are reported at 3,212 units, down from 3,543 units. Volume loss stood at 331 units at 9.34 percent sales decline.
Royal Enfield Electra 350 sales less than halved at 2,651 units. Sales fell from 5,431 units. Volume loss stood at 2,780 units following a volume decline of 51.19 percent. MoM sales decline is reported at just under 19 percent. Sales fell from just under 60k units.
Classic 350 sales fell by 8k units, down from 34,723 units at 22.89 percent decline. Meteor 350 sales fell from about 11k units. Volume loss stood at 2.5k units at 23 percent decline. Bullet 350 sales declined to under 10 percent, down from about 8k units. MoM CB 350 sales grew from 1,364 units at volume gain of 1,848 units. Electra 350 sales fell from 4.5k units at 41.36 percent sales decline.
350cc segment motorcycle exports Jan 2022
YoY Meteor 350 exports are up at 2,304 units, up from 184 units. Volume gain stood at just over 2.1k units. Classic 350 exports are at 2,042 units, up from 1.1k units. CB 350 exports stood at 1,440 units, up from 270 units. MoM growth for Meteor 350 and Classic 350 were more or less flat at 1.23 percent, and 3 percent.
CB 350 MoM sales grew by just below 100 percent, up from 738 units. With competition in the 350cc segment being an in-house affair for Royal Enfield, it can be hoped that segment sales improves as the market bounces back.