Honda Activa: 0-10 million sales in India in 15 years

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, which has a stranglehold on the scooter market in India with a market share of 59 percent, today announced that its Activa has become the first scooter in India to cross the one crore (10 million) unit sales landmark.

The Activa, which was launched in 2001 debut as Honda’s first two-wheeler for India, re-energised the Indian automatic scooter market and redefined convenient mobility. Equipped with a smooth four-stroke engine, Honda Eco Technology (which delivers a claimed 60 kilometres per litre fuel efficiency), V-matic (gearless) transmission, durable all metal body, Convenient Lift-up Independent Cover (CLIC) mechanism, tubeless tyres and combi-brake system, the Activa over the years has become a popular buy, particularly with female riders.

HMSI sold 55,000 Activas in 2001 and went on to become the market leaders in just three years. A decade and a half later, the scooter sold over 2.1 million units in 2014-15 and in the current fiscal’s has helped the company have a 60.31 percent market share (April-July 2015).

Commenting on the sales landmark, Keita Muramatsu, president and CEO, HMSI, said: “From reactivating the scooter segment in India in 2001 to leading the scooterisation of industry today, Honda’s Activa has changed the way Indians ride.” 

Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president (Sales & Marketing), HMSI, added: “A decade ago who would have bet that a scooter would once again be the largest-selling two-wheeler in India. But today the Activa has broken the glass ceiling. First, it is the only automatic scooter which has become India’s No. 1 selling two-wheeler (in June and July 2015). Secondly, Honda has become the first manufacturer to sell more than 250,000  scooters in a single month ever in July 2015. We believe this demand for automatic scooters will continue to rise.”

Also read: Honda, TVS, Yamaha pick up speed in Indian scooter market