HMSI sells over 41,000 two-wheelers on Akshaya Tritya, Western region tops

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), India’s largest scooter maker and second largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has registered an impressive growth in its single-day sales on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya (April 21, 2015). Akshaya Tritiya is considered to be an auspicious day in India for buying gold, consumer goods and vehicles across communities.

According to an official communication from the company, it has registered a 50 percent growth year-on-year in its overall sales that were more than 41,000 units on April 21. HMSI says that the western region topped the all-India tally in terms of recording maximum sales, growing by 60 percent year on year. It was followed by the Central region, which grew by over 30 percent YoY.

In the overall sales registered during the day, HMSI recorded a 55 percent growth YoY in the sales of its trio of Dream series commuter bikes (Dream Yuga, Dream Neo and CD 110 Dream).

Commenting on the consumer response, Yadvinder S Guleria, senior vice-president (sales and marketing), HMSI, said: “While we had the reports on muted sentiment towards gold buying, it has been a great revelation of trust and confidence in brand Honda. The 50 percent increase in sales during Akshaya Tritiya is a significant jump, which surpassed all our expectations.”

HMSI, which fell short of its sales target of 4.5 million units for FY2014-15, registered total sales of 42,63,967 units during the fiscal. Marking an impressive growth of 19.83 percent over its FY2013-14 sales of 35,58,401 units, the company now has a market share of 26.64 percent in the two-wheeler segment in India for FY2014-15.

While the largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp commands a 40.19 percent market share, its rival and the number three player, Bajaj Auto, now has a market share of 11.06 percent for FY2014-15 in the overall two-wheeler segment.

It is interesting to see that HMSI is closing the gap with Bajaj Auto in domestic motorcycle sales. During FY2014-15, while Bajaj Auto recorded total domestic motorcycle sales of 17,70,778 units, HMSI sold 17,61,620 units. This, as experts point out, is primarily because of HMSI’s focus on the mass commuter segment.

Considering only the sub-segment of motorcycles and step-throughs, FY2014-15 SIAM data reveals that while Hero MotoCorp leads with a strong 52.87 percent market share, Bajaj Auto and HMSI command market shares of 16.48 and 16.40 percent respectively.