2-Wheeler sales Sep 2023 (retail) have some interesting numbers right at the top. Honda is back challenging Hero for that number one position…
Honda has been after Hero MotoCorp’s number one position ever since it split up with its erstwhile partner. There have been a few war of words as well between the two but credit should be given to Hero for maintaining its lead despite little or no technical know-how a decade or so back. That it still has majority of sales coming from Honda’s engines is a topic of discussion for some other day.
The way Honda has penetrated the market is a topic of deep study. It is in stark contrast with Hero. It saw a gap in automatic scooters then and Activa, today, is often the largest selling 2-wheeler in India. On the other hand, rival Hero has not been able to set foot properly in the scooter segment despite having a massive dealership base. It has fallen to the fourth place in scooters and that is a worry for the brand.
2-Wheeler Sales Sep 2023 – Retail
Here, check these interesting numbers…
| Hero MotoCorp | 3,51,781 units |
| Honda | 3,48,899 units |
Though you may have read over 5 lakh unit sales for the month of September 2023 for both the makers but those were wholesales ie the number of units that manufacturers ship to dealers. In these festive months, makers send higher number of motorcycles and scooters in anticipation and also to fulfill year’s highest demand.
But what you see above are the actual sales ie the number of 2-wheelers that got registered with RTOs in India – which means – TRUE SALES. So, in real numbers, Hero and Honda were just 2882 units apart. With those figures, Hero maintained its lead with a market share of 26.81 percent.
Interestingly, last year, during the same month, Honda was ahead of Hero by almost 30,000 units. What this suggests is – that the rivalry between these two brands will continue for a long time as none is ready to let go its territory. But what are clear signs, for the last many months are that – Honda may finally beat Hero soon and may become the largest permanent seller.
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Among other key manufacturers, the very impressive TVS also marked a remarkable jump from last Sep and recorded 2.29 lakh sales, followed by Bajaj with 1.49 lakh units. Suzuki, Royal Enfield and Yamaha settled at 73,452 units, 63,084 units and 49,510 units respectively – all of them higher than last year’s September.
What do you think – will Hero be able to save its numero uno position…?
Note – Above mentioned table show numbers from 1352 RTOs out of 1440 RTOs in India
