NEW DELHI: Beating the likes of Hero MotorCorp and Honda 2Wheelers, Bajaj Auto has emerged as India’s largest motorcycle maker in April 2021. The Pune-based company commenced the new fiscal by clocking worldwide sales (including India) at 3,48,173 units.
While, its export grew manifold to 2,21,603. The automaker had sold 330,133 units (domestic + exports) in March 2021. In comparison, Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler maker, sold about 339,000 motorcycles while Honda’s total sales (domestic + exports) stood at 283,045 units, with 240,100 two-wheelers sold in the domestic market. Chennai based TVS Motor, meanwhile, sold a total of 226,193 two-wheelers.
India's two-wheeler market is going through one of its worst phases as demand has plummeted by around 30-40 per cent due to the second Covid-19 wave and the subsequent economic impact. With dealerships full of unsold inventory, OEMs are increasingly focused on global markets to utilise its production capacity. Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director, Bajaj Auto said, “We have commenced FY2022 on a very positive note despite the challenging environment.
The wide range of motorcycles made by us cover the entire spectrum from entry, middle and up to premium level segments allowing us to engage with a wide spectrum of customers from the mototaxi driver in Africa to the adventure seeker in Europe!
This versatility is of enormous value in managing the current volatility as well as uncertainty and to keep the wheels of business moving for all our stakeholders.” Bajaj leads Indian automobile exports, accounting for almost 60 per cent of motorcycle and three-wheeler exports last year. In FY21, its export income stood at Rs 12,687 crore