For December 2019, Hero MotoCorp has reported sales decline on all fronts, i.e., motorcycle and scooter sales in the domestic and exports market. Motorcycle sales fell 3.34 percent from 4,17,612 units to 4,03,625 units. Scooter sales fell 41.66 percent to 21,220 units, down from 36,373 units.
That takes total sales down to 4,24,845 units, down 6.41 percent from 4,53,985 units. Of this, domestic sales stood at 4,12,009 units, down 5.6 percent from 4,36,591 units. Exports fell 26.20 percent to 12,836 units from 17,394 units.
YTD FY20 sales are reported at 47,10,766 units, down percent from 54,57,465 units. Scooter sales for the period have fallen 37.39 percent to 3,64,442 units, down from 5,82,120 units. Total sales for the said period fell by 15.96 percent, down to 50,75,208 units, down from 60,39,585 units.
The bulk of Hero MotoCorp’s sales are in the domestic market. For a company that sells such vast multitude of vehicles in India, Hero MotoCorp’s foray into international markets appears to be minuscule. Of total sales, domestic sales account for 49,46,508 units. Down 16 percent from 58,88,899 units sold in the same nine months last year. Exports stood at a mere 1,28,700 units, down 14.59 percent from 1,50,686 units sold in the same period last year.
As Hero MotoCorp goes into 2020, on the product from 2019 had various talking points. The brand launched its model year Maestro Edge 125, Pleasure+ 110, Xtreme 200S, Xpulse 200T, and XPulse 200. On the BSVI front, the brand’s introduced the Splendor iSmart BSVI with plenty of time to spare before BSVI is mandated in India. This makes sense considering Splendor is a high volume product for the manufacturer. Even the 100cc, HF Deluxe has been introduced as a BSVI offering.
Hero MotoCorp also confirms that it will launch a range of BS-VI motorcycles and scooters as early as January 2020. Keeping in mind its volume sales in India, early and timely transitioning to BSVI will be a key focus area for Hero MotoCorp. BSVI norms are mandated from April 1, 2020.
With the market slowdown being all encompassing for the auto industry, it’s now left to be seen whether a spate of new launches in the last quarter of the FY will be enough to boost sales. Hero MotoCorp is yet to make an announcement regarding a price revision of its products on account of a new calendar year.
