The Hindu Business Line : Hero Honda powers ahead

Mumbai, Sept. 1 Hero Honda continues to be the monarch of the two-wheeler segment with record sales of 415,137 units in August, a 36 per cent jump over the 305,516 units sold in the same period last year.

Incidentally, this is also for the first time that the joint venture company between Honda of Japan and the Hero group (promoted by the Munjals) has clocked over four lakh units in a single month. Sources say that this could well continue into September too when despatches will be high to meet the festive season demand.

Hero Honda has constantly banked on its Splendor and Passion brands as its key growth drivers and the fact that customers still swear by them is a tribute to their durability despite competition.

The company, sources say, plans to launch a couple of new products in the coming months which could be variants of successful brands.

Honda’s other subsidiary in India, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), which is barely a decade old, sold 96,149 units in August, up from 84,476 units in the same month last year. The market expected the company to do better than this especially when it had posted over one lakh units in June and July but sources said there were production constraints at the Manesar plant.

HMSI is the clear leader in the gearless scooter segment which accounted for a little over 59,000 of sales in August. The Activa has been the flagship brand and sources say the waiting list has only grown longer with the new version that reportedly delivers a mileage of 55 kilometres to a litre. This has also weaned away some motorcycle buyers who prefer a gearless two-wheeler that also offers good mileage.

The two Honda entities now have a vice-like grip in the Indian two-wheeler segment though both have entirely different priorities when it comes to their product range and customer profile. The idea is to steer clear of each other’s core competencies so that the customer base does not come under any threat.

TVS Motor

TVS Motor Company reported an 11 per cent increase in sales to 126,842 two-wheelers from 114,321 in August 2008.

The company, sources say, is taking one step at a time as part of its effort to build a strong product portfolio. Indications are that a new scooter and motorcycle could be on the anvil this fiscal.

Bajaj Auto’s sales figures are scheduled to be released on Wednesday. Incidentally, Yamaha and Suzuki reported sales of 19,508 (11,974) and 13,030 (11,072) units respectively during the month.

Two-wheeler sales for this month, excluding Bajaj Auto, are already close to 6.71 lakh units (of which the Honda duo accounts for 5.11 lakh bikes and scooters) compared to 7.17 lakh units for the whole industry in August 2008.

It is almost certain that the figure will be over eight lakh units and this momentum is expected to continue in September.

More Stories on : Performance | Two/Three Wheelers | Hero Honda Motors Ltd

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