Royal Enfield motorcycles commanded the most attention in the 200cc-500cc segment of motorcycles
The lockdowns following the second wave of COVID-19 have led to a 22 percent drop in motorcycle sales in April 2021. Sales of bikes in the 200-500cc segments dipped to 58,870 units compared to the previous month of March when sales stood at 75,649 units. Every motorcycle in this segment noted a fall in MoM sales except for the RE Bullet 350, of which sales increased 2.22 percent while the highest percentage fall was in the case of the Suzuki Gixxer 250 of which sales dipped 62.85 percent.
RE Classic 350, Bullet 350 and Meteor 350
In top 3 spots in the list of best-selling bikes in the 200-500 cc segment were the RE Classic 350, Bullet 350 and Meteor 350. Classic 350 was the leader in this segment with sales at 23,298 units in April 21, down 26.49 percent as against 31,694 units sold in March 21. The Classic 350 was the best-selling model in the company portfolio for FY21. Despite suffering a de-growth of 9.29 percent, total sales stood at 3,61,140 in FY21 as against 3,98,144 units sold in FY20.
The Bullet 350cc, the cheapest offering in the company lineup, noted a marginal increase in MoM sales. In March 21, sales had stood at 9,693 units, which increased to 9,908 units in the past month. Taking sales in the past financial year into account, Bullet 350 noted de-growth of 25.04 percent to 98,008 units as compared to sales of 1,30,752 units in FY20.
Over the past 5 months, sales of the Meteor 350 have been steadily growing. Sales to date include 7,031 units sold in November, 8,569 units in December, 5,073 units in January and 8,624 units in February. March 21 sales were the highest at 10,596 units only to dip 25.97 percent to 7,844 units in April 21.
Even as the Bajaj Pulsar 220 came in at No.4 with sales of 3,914 units in April 21, down from 5,172 units in March 21, Royal Enfield continued its dominance in this segment with the Electra 350 cruiser coming in at No.5. Electra sales stood at 3,631 units in April 21 as against 4,914 units sold in March 21, a MoM sales de-growth of 26.11 percent.
At No. 7 was also the RE Himalayan adventure bike with a 2.86 percent de-growth to 2,815 units sold in April 21. Royal Enfield’s Himalayan received a significant update for 2021 along with a price increment of Rs 10,000 while it currently commands a waiting period of 8-9 weeks.
Honda H’ness also posted strong sales in April 21 at 2,969 units though this was a dip from 4,302 units sold in March 21. Earlier this month the bike received its second price hike since launch with the latest upward revision by Rs 3,405 for both variants Honda H’Ness CB350 Deluxe and Pro.
KTM 250 and 390
Lower down the order were the two KTM bikes 250 and 390 each of which noted MoM de-growth. KTM 250 sales dipped 12.81 percent to 1,089 units while KTM 350 sales fell 16.81 percent to 851 units. There is a new feature-packed KTM 390 Duke in the making and it has been spotted on test in a similar design and with mechanical updates as seen on the 250 Duke.
Bajaj Avenger 220, Dominar 400 and Dominar 250 followed each other in quick succession, each posting MoM de-growth, while the TVS Apache 310 and Husqvarna 250 and FZ25 found positions at the bottom of the table along with the Gixxer 250 that posted the most MoM de-growth of 62.85 percent to only 133 units sold in April 21. Also found in the list is Honda CB300R, which is yet to be launched. With dispatches started, launch of Honda CB300R is expected to launch soon in India.