2-wheeler sales FY20 present an extremely sorry picture for the auto industry. And this does NOT factor in the devastation that will be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic!
It has literally been a bloodbath on the sales charts for almost every 2-wheeler maker in India. Many of them are blaming the incessant increase in prices of vehicles mandated by the very regular regulations that have been levied in the last few years.
Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto has said that prices of motorcycles have increased by 30-35 percent alone in the last 2 odd years! Club this with the falling economy and it presents a very gloomy picture.
As a result 2-wheeler manufacturers are bleeding for the last 16 odd months. We have received the cumulative sales figures for the complete financial year of 2019-20 (ie sales from April 2019 to March 2020) from SIAM and here is how it stands…
2-Wheeler Sales FY20
| Manufacturer | FY20 Sales | YoY Growth |
| Hero MotoCorp | 62,31,458 | -18.14% |
| Honda Motorcycle & Scooter | 47,06,589 | -14.75% |
| TVS Motor | 24,10,755 | -23.11% |
| Bajaj Auto | 20,78,348 | -18.22% |
| Suzuki Motorcycles | 6,85,223 | 2.46% |
| Royal Enfield | 6,56,651 | -18.46% |
| Yamaha Motor | 5,79,227 | -28.02% |
| Piaggio Vehicles | 62,638 | -19.46 |
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Quick Analysis – Pointers
Though the standings at the top have remained unchanged but the overall scenario can be divided in three parts – the fight for supremacy among the top two players – Hero and Honda: between TVS and Bajaj at the 3rd and 4th spot and then the bottom trio, apart from the newbie Piaggio.
- This is the closest Honda has got to Hero in volume terms in the last three years. But what would be worrying for the Jap is that this the second consecutive year it is reporting negative numbers. In the last YoY numbers, Honda registered a loss of 4.4 percent.
- Similar is the story with Bajaj and TVS as the Chennai based manufacturer has ended up being the biggest loser in percentage terms among the top five makers.
- Yamaha has suffered the biggest fall of over 28 percent in this tally. This has meant that it has fallen to the seventh spot in the overall ranking (from sixth last year).
- Suzuki has been the only maker which has shown growth. It has been rewarded with a two place jump and in the process it has also overtaken Royal Enfield for the first time in sales.
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With the 2-wheeler makers reeling under the BS6 transition, the COVID-19 related anticipated downfall will be a double whammy for them. Analysts believe that the coming year will continue to be a sad story for the overall auto industry.
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On the flip side, it is also believed that people will change habits post-COVID and may prefer traveling in own vehicles as it will ensure social distancing. As a result, sales of 2-wheelers may witness a positive change…
