NEW DELHI: The country’s second largest two-wheelers maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has witnessed a significant sales recovery in June. Going forward, the Japanese subsidiary hopes to maintain the momentum riding on its strong scooter portfolio and bike launches in the mass segment. In an interaction with the The New Indian Express, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director – Sales & Marketing at HMSI, spoke on the challenges faced by automakers at large and its plans to expand reach in rural market and more.
How are you assessing the current scenario?
We witnessed significant recovery in June month-on-month, but year-on-year numbers are still low. There are a few positives in the market -- the biggest one being new sets of customers. Many people are not comfortable in using public transport due to the nature of the virus and are opting two-wheelers. Other positives include pent-up demand and the continuous rise in enquiry level. However, the on and off lockdown at local level across major cities to contain the pandemic spread remains a big concern for the industry, besides other issues like maintaining a robust supply channel and the manpower crisis at our facilities.
How is the market expected to perform in FY21?
Despite faster recovery, I still foresee a double-digit decline for the industry this fiscal. As we have seen that the first quarter was a total washout because of the nationwide lockdown. A lot will depend on the recovery of the economy, which at present has hit rock bottom. The on-going trade issue with China, if not sorted out, can impact the whole economy, including the automobile industry.
Will consumers see a price hike in the near future?
A price hike in the near future is inevitable. As you know, plants are not operating at full capacity so we aren’t able to reap the economies of scale benefits. A sudden rise in retail fuel prices is adding to our logistics costs and multiple measures taken by us in safety, sanitation and well being of employees is further adding to our overall cost. Eventually, we will have to pass this rising cost to consumers.
How is rural market doing in comparison to urban?
Trend of scooterisation is picking up in rural India. We being the largest player is benefitting from it. Rural market is doing better than urban also because of a healthy rabi crop season, timely disbursement of cash to farmers by the government and marriage season. To increase our presence in this market, we recently launched new CD 110 and Livo. Soon, they will available in showrooms across India and increase our volume. As for the urban market, our scooters continue to outperform market. Launch of premium bikes were delayed, but now they are on line. On Tuesday, we launched the new BS VI powered 160cc engine X-Blade.