Two-wheeler sales show positive growth in March 2014

It was glad tidings for most of the major two-wheeler manufacturers in the country as they ended the 2013 financial year on a high. Sales report for the month of March 2014 is out and every manufacturer has reported a positive growth in terms of sales. Honda and Suzuki haven’t released their sales figures yet. This increase in sales can be credited to the introduction of new products by the manufacturers and also the fact that Gudi Padwa falls on the last day of March. Many consider it an auspicious day for purchasing two-wheelers and its impact is clearly visible in the sales figure.

Hero MotoCorp ruled the roost in terms of volumes, while Mahindra Two Wheelers yet again notched the highest percentage growth.  Hero had another remarkable month in terms of sales as it managed to sell 5,24,028 units in March 2014 in comparison to 468,283 units I the same month last year. This means, the country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer recorded an 11.9 per cent growth in sales. Apart from this Hero sold 62,45,895 units of two-wheeler during the financial year (April 1, 2013–March 31, 2014), and percentage of overall sales growth stands at three per cent. Hero is expecting sales to further grow as it recently launched its latest commuter offering, the Splendor iSmart.  The new bike is the first production motorcycle in the country to feature an ‘i3S Technology’ (Idle Stop and Start System), which the company claims improves fuel efficiency. The Splendor iSmart has been priced at Rs 47,250/- (ex-showroom Delhi). Read our review here: Hero Splendor iSmart: Review. With further new additions in the pipeline sales are set to grow even further for the two-wheeler giant in the following months.

Commenting on the sales performance, Anil Dua, Sr. Vice-President (Marketing & Sales), Hero MotoCorp said, “Our strong sales performance in FY’14 is reflective of our new strategic approach that focuses on bringing revolutionary and game-changing technologies. Our retail growth at seven per cent during FY’14 reiterates the confidence and trust that customers have in our products. This kind of retail growth has significantly given us the necessary momentum for the new financial year.”

The journey for Bajaj Auto hasn’t been an easy one in the past few months with sales figure showing a decline on a constant basis. But March turned out to be a favourable month for Bajaj, as it registered sales of 2,70,591 units in March 2014 with respect to 2,67,037 units it had managed in the same month last year. Though, the percentage of growth is just one per cent, the Chakan based manufacturer will be happy with its performance as it has seen a positive sales growth after a while.  Exports stood at 1,18,183 units in March 2014 in comparison to 1,01,374 units in the same time period last year resulting in a healthy growth of 17 per cent. The worrying bit for Bajaj will be its cumulative sales  figure that slid by nine per cent as it clocked sales of 34,22,416units in this fiscal year compared to 37,57,105 units in the last one. One of the main reasons that Bajaj is witnessing a decline in sales figure is its decision of not entering the scooter segment. The automatic scooter segment has boomed over the past few years and every major two-wheeler manufacturer is cashing in on this segment to improve their sales performance. Having said that, Bajaj has a few offerings lined up for and it will be hoping that these new motorcycles enable it to sustain its positive growth.

Buoyed by the success its latest commuter offering, the Centuro has received Mahindra Two Wheelers’ recorded yet another positive month in terms of overall sales. Overall volume growth for the month of March 2014 stood at an impressive 152 per cent. The two-wheeler manufacturer was successful in selling 19,591 units during March 2014 as compared to 7,765 units in the corresponding month in 2013. Domestic volumes stood at 18,953 units, a growth of 165 per cent over the previous year. Also, Mahindra’s cumulative sales from April 2013 to March 2014 grew by a whopping 92 percent. The Centuro, which has clocked sales of more than 1 lakh units within just six months of its launch and to further improve sales, Mahindra had launched the Centuro N1, which is Rs 2,000 cheaper than the standard model.

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Speaking on this performance, Viren Popli, Chief of Operations, Mahindra Two Wheelers said, “In 2014 we have doubled our volume backed by the successful launch of the innovative Mahindra Centuro. We are glad that Centuro continues to receive an unprecedented consumer demand. We have extended our product range with the introduction of the new Mahindra Centuro N1 that is helping us reach new demographic segments. Our sales & distribution network is also rapidly expanding across the country.”

TVS Motor Company’s success run continued as it registered a 16 per cent growth in the two-wheeler segment for the month of March 2014. The Hosur based manufacturer managed to sell 1,88,822 units in March 2014 as compared to 1,65,482 units in the corresponding month last year. TVS will pleased with the performance of it scooter sales, which grew by an impressive 63 per cent owing to the recently launched Jupiter the Jupiter. Exports showed a growth of 21 per cent as TVS exported 23,340 units in March 2014 as compared to 19,268 in the same month last year. TVS will also be soon launching the Star City+, which is its latest new commuter offering and will be hoping the new motorcycle will further add to its overall sales figure. Read more about the Star City+ here: TVS Star City+: First review.

Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd had yet another eventful month in terms of sales as it noticed an overall growth of 21.3 per cent. The Japanese manufacturer managed to sell 61,239 units in March 2014 as compared to 50,473 units in the same time period in 2014. It also witnessed growth in exports as Yamaha exported 15,187 units last month in comparison to 14,691units in March 2013. The Japanese two-wheeler is hoping that sales will be further boosted in the near future by its new uni-sex scooter – Alpha, as it has registered 3,000 bookings in Bangalore alone within a month of its launch. Read our review here: Yamaha Alpha: Review

Elaborating on the results,  Roy Kurian, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd, said, “This month has indeed been an exceptional month for us as we were able to witness a brisk growth due to our superb product line-up and innovative customer centric activities. With the launch of our family scooter-‘Alpha’ in Auto Expo along with Ray and Ray-Z, we were able to maintain consistency in our overall growth and the results projected the same.”