As the Indian automotive industry makes a gradual recovery from COVID-19 and the initial two-month nationwide lockdown protocols, major automakers have been witnessing a slight improvement in sales in the last couple of months. However, numbers still have to go a long way before they can reach pre-COVID trends.
It appears that two-wheelers are doing relatively better than other categories amid these trying times. This is quite unusual as well since the monsoons often retard the sales of two-wheelers or generally anything that is not suitable for wet travelling conditions. One of the primary reasons for this is the increasing demand for personal means of transportation due to safety concerns over using public transport services as part of the ‘new normals’.
In the meantime, OEMs have introduced online sales platforms to provide easier and safer options for buying a new vehicle. Besides offering a hassle-free purchase process, these ‘online showrooms’ have added advantages such as interactive demos of each product, virtual assistant, service booking, financial aids and exclusive offers and benefits.
Last month, the top 10 bestselling motorcycles in the country contributed 7,53,637 units to overall two-wheeler sales. This is a marginal decline of 1.76% as against 7,67,153 units back in July 2019. Here is a detailed breakup of the top 10 models (all variants combined):
Hero Splendor topped the list rather unsurprisingly at 2,13,413 units compared to 34,506 units less in the same month, a year before. In other words, sales shot up by 19.29%. Hero HF Deluxe came second at 1,54,142 units and faced a decline of 9.13%. Honda CB Shine followed way behind at 88,969 units in July 2020 as against 94,559 or 5.91% more in July 2019.
Bajaj Pulsar (all versions put together) hit 73,836 units last month. It grew by 18,20% from July 2020 while Hero Glamour could garner only 51,225 units or 19,935 units lower than before. Hero Passion, despite getting a welcome improvement of 2.16%, fell to 8th position after securing 44,377 units. Bajaj Platina garnered 35,103 units and faced the highest decline on the chart, 33.12%.
The lesser Bajaj CT marked 33,774 units. Sales came down by almost 15% compared to last year. TVS Motor Company’s Apache series of sports and sports commuter motorcycles collectively hit 33,264 units as against 25,331 units or 31.32% lower last year. This is the highest rate of growth showcased among the top 10 bestselling motorcycles in India.
Finally comes Royal Enfield with Classic 350. The ‘UCE 350’ model hit 25,534 units last month and underwent a 13.26% drop in sales. The Chennai-based motorcycle manufacturer is almost ready with the next-gen ‘UCE 350’ power plant, starting with Meteor 350.
This post was last modified on August 22, 2020 7:17 am