NEW DELHI: After a long period, the two-wheeler industry, aided by a recovery in rural demand, is showing continuous improvement in sales volume with most players reporting healthy growth in monthly dispatches.
Hero MotoCorp dispatched 492,263 units last month, up 4% year-on-year compared to 472,947 units in August 2023. It has also reclaimed its number 1 spot from Honda 2Wheelers in the domestic market.
Hero said its August sales were marginally impacted by supply shortages, which will be made up in September. “Hero MotoCorp is geared to ramp-up for the upcoming festive season, where it expects a healthy growth. With faster recovery expected in the rural segment, growth in the 125cc segment, new launches in scooters and strong investment behind power brands, the company expects to grow ahead of the industry,” the company said.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) on Monday reported a 9% rise in domestic wholesales to 491,678 units in August. The company had dispatched 451,200 units in August 2023. Bajaj Auto’s two-wheeler domestic sales jumped 30% to 208,621 units while TVS Motor Company reported a growth of 13% with sales increasing from 256,619 units in August 2023 to 289,073 units in August 2024.
Aniruddha Haldar, head of commuter business at TVS Motor, last week told TNIE that TVS Motor is close to inching its pre-COVID peak of FY18-19. He also said that industry volume is expected to be very good this year as so far in FY25, the volume is up by 12-13%.
“We are very close to our pre-covid peak. Before the pandemic, the industry was growing at 4% and the scooter market was growing at 8%. We were growing at 12% and even now we continue to grow ahead of the industry,” said Halder. He added that the big positive for the industry has been rural growth outstripping urban growth.
Halder also expects a robust festive season for TVS as well as the industry. He said that while some areas have experienced excessive rainfall, the overall monsoon has been favourable, boosting confidence that the two-wheeler industry will exceed current growth rates in the festive season.