A huge hike in insurance, weak customer sentiment, GST rate at a high of 28 percent and postponement of purchase decisions have all resulted in lower two wheeler sales and a huge pileup of inventory at dealer showrooms.
At No. 1 on the list of top selling two wheeler makers in the country in February 2019, Hero MotoCorp has reported a 1 percent degrowth in February 2019. Sales which stood at 6,05,355 units in February 2018, fell to 6,00,616 units in the past month. Hero MotoCorp has a slew of new products which include scooters and premium motorcycles set for launch in the months ahead. The company expects the scenario to change for the better in the months ahead.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India was at the No. 2 spot on the list, saw sales dip 17 percent in the past month. Sales stood at 4,08,559 units in February as against sales of 4,89,638 units in the same month of the previous year. Honda has also updated its entire range to comply with new safety regulations with Combi Brake System (CBS) versions of CB Shine, Navi and CD 110 Dream DX and the ABS fitted CB Unicorn for model year 2019.
TVS Motors was at No. 3 with 1 percent increase in sales. Sales in February 2019 stood at 2,31,582 units as against sales of 2,30,353 units reported in February 2 018. The company commands a 14.34 percent market share. It was the TVS Jupiter and NTORQ 125 that contributed to these increased sales.
Bajaj Auto Limited also noted increased sales in the past month. Sales were up 6.3 percent with a total of 1,86,523 units sold as compared to 1,75,489 units in the same month of the previous year. The company noted an increase in sales not only where its two wheelers were concerned but also in terms of sales of its commercial vehicles and exports which also increased 19 percent in the past month.
In No. 5 spot was Yamaha Motors India who have also reported positive growth in the past month. Sales were up 6.4 percent with 64,797 units sold as compared to sales of 60,907 units sold in February 2018.
Royal Enfield sales dipped considerably in February 2019. Sales which had stood at 71,354 units in February 2018 fell 15.8 percent to 60,066 units last month. The company gears up for launch of the two Trials scrambler-styled motorcycles which are based on the Classic 350 and 500 which be revealed sometime later this month.
Suzuki posted positive growth in February 2019 with sales up 23.9 percent with a total of 57,173 units sold. Piaggio sales dipped 10.2 percent with only 4,946 units sold in the past month as against 5,508 units sold in the same month of the previous year.Kawasaki reported a 51.5 percent increase in sales with 309 units sold in the past month. Kawasaki launched the Versys 1000 in the past month with deliveries scheduled from March which could bring in more sales for the company.
Mahindra Two Wheeler sales also fell in February by as much as 58.1 percent. The company sold just 209 units in the past month as compared to 499 units sold in February 2018 while luxury bike markers Harley Davidson also suffered from lower sales with just 141 units sold in February 2019, a dip of 48.4 percent as compared to 273 units sold in February 2018.
British superbike manufacturer Triumph Motorcycles also noted a fall in sales in the past month by 31 percent. The company sold 60 units in February 2019 as against 87 units in February 2018 while the newly launched Tiger 800 XCA at Rs.15,16,700 could bring in more sales in the months ahead.
