Note: All sales figures mentioned here are SIAM sourced official figures
You know that Honda is country’s second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in terms of domestic sales, just under Hero. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto has been pushed to the the fourth spot by TVS Motor. However, if we consider motorcycle sales only, Bajaj Auto has been India’s second largest selling company for many years and it still retains the title, BUT JUST!
Honda, which has been predominantly a large scooter seller is lurking around Bajaj’s throat and sales data reveals that its (Honda’s) cumulative motorcycle sales for the last financial year (April 2014 till March 2015) stood at 17,61,620 units which are only 9158 units less than Bajaj! Just to give you a bigger picture, this difference was about 4.5 Lakhs units last financial year (Mar 13 to Apr 14).
This tells why Rajiv Bajaj is under pressure in combating the Japanese assault in the Indian market, the word that Stephen Pierer (KTM’s boss) revealed during an interview to an international magazine recently. So, does that mean by the mid or end of this financial year, Bajaj will be pushed to the third spot even in the motorcycle segment?
Bajaj has seen a continuous fall in sales in the domestic market though their focus on other markets have yielded them dividends (Bajaj is the largest two-wheeler exporter in India). On the other hand, Honda has been insanely aggressive ever since its split with Hero and has been capturing market share almost every other day.
Interestingly, its Bajaj which has been the worst (and only) affected and this shows in yearly motorcycle sales figures. None of the other motorcycle manufacturers (except Mahindra) has registered sales decline year on year including TVS!
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However, for April 2015, which is the first month of the new financial year, Bajaj has opened up with an increase in sales month on month whereas Honda has registered a drop and the difference between these two is about 30,000 units.
Will Honda be able to sustain the momentum or will Bajaj be able to put up a fight? The coming months will tell the story… Who are you betting for…?
