NEW DELHI: Pune-based automaker Bajaj Auto on Monday reported a 11 per cent year-on-year slump in domestic two-wheeler sales in July 2020, and recorded only a marginal increase in sales sequentially.
Unlike its competitors such as Hero Motocorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India and TVS Motor Company who recorded substantial improvement compared to the previous month.
Bajaj sold 1,52,474 units in July 2020, only slightly higher that the 1,46,695 units sold in June 2020. In July 2019, the company had sold 1,70,978 vehicles. Similarly, its two-wheeler exports registered a steep fall of 43 per cent to 86,082 units.
Bajaj Auto is India’s largest exporter of two-wheelers and exports around 40 per cent of its total output. The sharp fall in exports brought down its total two-wheeler sales in July 2020 to 2,38,556 units as against 2,55,122 units sold in June 2020.
Hit hard by the pandemic, India’s automotive industry has started seeing signs of recovery in the past two months. Despite this pickup however, the industry still remains cautious. Many experts believe that the current pickup in activity can be attributed mainly to pent-up demand and a rising preference towards personal mobility. They also said that on-going regional lockdowns and rising number of coronavirus cases remain a big concern.
“With India moving to Unlock 3.0, we are cautiously optimistic of the demand... the physical inventory level at our dealerships is less than a month’s sales,” said YS Guleria, Director, Sales & Marketing at HMSI. Honda’s July 20 domestic dispatch stood at 3,09,332 units, a strong 53 per cent growth over June 2020. Hero Motorcorp registered a sequential growth of 14 per cent in July, while TVS registered a sales growth of 27 per cent at 252,744 units against 198,387 units in June 2020.