With the cost of two wheelers set to escalate once new safety regulations come into force; which will soon be followed by a transition to engines complying with new BS-VI emission norms, saw buyers making a bee line to company showrooms. This was especially so since most two wheeler makers offered hefty year end discounts and benefits so as to also clear out remaining stocks.
Hero MotoCorp, the country’s largest two wheeler maker, however noted a 4% decline in sales in December 2018. The company sold 4,53,985 units in the last month as compared to 4,72,731 units sold in December 2017.
While sales in the first nine months between April and December stood at 60,37,901 units, total sales during the period January to December 2018 stood at 80,39,472 units surpassing all company expectations. The reasons for the dip in December sales could be attributed to volatility in currencies along with trade conflicts which hampered growth along with increased insurance cost which was announced over the festive season.
Bajaj Auto Limited saw two wheeler sales increase by 31% in December 2018 along with total growth to the extent of 29%. The company sold 2,98,855 motorcycles in the past month as compared to 2,28,762 units sold in December 2017. In domestic market, sales of two wheelers stood at 1,57,252 units, an increase of 39% as compared to 1,12,930 units sold in December 2017. Exports of two wheelers increased 22% with a total of 1,41,603 units exported in the past month as compared to 1,15,832 units exported in December 2017.
TVS Motor Company also reported positive growth of 6% in December 2018. The company sold a total of 2,71,395 units last month as compared to 2,56,870 units sold in December 2017. Two wheeler sales stood at 2,58,709 units in December 2018, a 4% increase as compared to 2,47,591 units sold in December 2017. Sales of two wheelers in domestic market surged by 1% from 2,07,739 units sold in December 2017 to 2,09,906 units sold in the past month. Taking scooter sales into account, TVS Motors sold 91,480 units in December 2018 and 86,638 units in December 2017, a 9% increase while motorcycle sales increased 13% from 95,246 units sold in December 2017 to 1,07,189 units sold last month.
Royal Enfield sales in December 2018 dipped 13%. The company sold 66,968 units in December 2017 which went down to 58,278 units in the past month. Domestic sales fell by 14% from 65,367 units sold in December 2017 to 56,026 units sold in December 2018 while exports surged to 2,252 units in December 2018 as compared to 1,601 units exported in December 2017. With the two new offerings of the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650, the company expects to see better sales in the months ahead.
Suzuki has posted YoY growth of 30.83% with a total of 52,354 units sold in December 2018 as compared to 40,017 units sold in December 2018. Sales in domestic markets stood at 43,874 units in December 2018 as compared to 32,786 units sold in December 2017, an increase of 33.82%. Exports also surged 17.27% in December 2018 when a total of 8,480 units were exported as compared to 7,231 units exported in December 2017. A notable fact is that Suzuki has surpassed FY 2017-18 total of 5 lakh units in 3 quarters of FY 2018-19 and seeks to touch the 7.5 lakh sales target this fiscal.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India are yet to announce their sales results for December 2018.
