Honda beats Hero, becomes largest scooter exporter for FY2015-16

Leaving Hero MotoCorp behind, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is now the largest scooter exporter from India.

HMSI, which is also the second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the domestic market, shipped out 103,242 scooters in FY2015-16. This marked a substantial jump of 32.68 percent YoY.

HMSI had exported 77,814 units in FY2014-15, and stood second to Hero, which has then recorded total scooter exports of 79,956 units. The latter registered total exports of 77,521 scooter units for the last fiscal, and thus ranked second in the top scooter exporting companies. Hero’s scooter exports for the last fiscal saw a mild decline of 3 percent YoY to FY2014-15.

Market analysts say that Hero’s scooter exports for FY2014-15 had surged because of a large, one-time order from Sri Lanka. In FY2015-16, however, the company focused on raising its production capacity and increasing its domestic market share.

Hero MotoCorp is understood to have expanded its global reach to 30 countries across Asia, Africa and Americas. Its first overseas manufacturing facility became operational in Colombia in September 2015.

HMSI, on the other hand, exports its made-in-India products to almost 20 countries including Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, doubling its scooter exports during the last fiscal, TVS Motors’ offshore shipments accounted for 37,722 units as against 16,543 units in FY2014-15. The company, nevertheless, reported a sharp decline of 76.71 percent YoY in exports of its 70cc-90cc models – only 1,208 units in FY2015-16.

While India Yamaha more than tripled its scooter exports to 22,263 units, Suzuki reported exports of 8,510 units during FY2015-16. Both companies are looking at aggressively growing their respective export volumes in FY2016-17.

Overall, the scooter exports saw an impressive jump during the last fiscal, growing by 34.72 percent YoY. Total scooter exports stood at 256,273 units. For FY2014-15, total scooter exports (90cc-125cc) stood at 190,221 units.

Interestingly, all the scooter OEMs in India reported a growth in their respective exports barring Hero MotoCorp, which saw a marginal decline.