India’s largest two-wheeler maker today posted an 18.7% on-year growth in its total dispatches in September, while the second largest two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India recorded an 11% growth in total sales. Both companies pushed more vehicles to dealerships in anticipation of strong sales during the peak festival season.
The automaker dispatched a total of 637,050 two-wheelers in the month, against 536,499 two-wheelers in the year-ago period. Domestic sales also rose 18.7% to 616,706 units while exports increased 21.8% to 20,344 units.
“A positive sentiment is prevalent in the industry as it approaches the festive season on the back of a good monsoon. Hero MotoCorp is geared up with a host customer offers, in line with previous festive periods, across its wide and attractive portfolio,” the company said in a news release.
Festival season started with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam in Kerala in early September and will extend till Bhai Dooj after Diwali in November across the majority of the states. This period is of great significance to automakers as consumer spending is high during this time due to cultural significance. The volumes generated in this period account for a significant part of their annual sales.
“The company has a strong pipeline of bookings and is experiencing increased customer footfall leading up to the festive season. It expects healthy growth during the 32-day period starting from October 3,” Hero MotoCorp noted.
Meanwhile, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters dispatched a total of 583,633 units, compared with 526,998 units in the year-ago period. Dispatches to the domestic market rose 9% on year to 536,391 units while exports jumped 34% to 47,242 units exports.
The Japanese automaker noted that its market continues to be on a high note with positive momentum and double-digit growth at the onset of the festival season.
Two-wheeler sales in India have seen robust growth in this financial year.
Though the industry sales remain below the all-time high of 2018-19, there have been some green shoots, particularly in the rural areas since last year. Better disposable income, infrastructure, recovery from pandemic worries, favorable weather conditions, and e-commerce activity have boosted consumer sentiments