August 2022 2-wheeler sales present green shoots and a hope that we may be going back to normalcy. But inflation is a big hindrance!
The monthly retail sales data is out and August numbers are important for the complete industry as it is the entry into the festive season – the best period for makers in the year. Good or bad figures here impact the overall numbers for the year.
August 2022 2-Wheeler Sales (Retail)
More than 10.74 lakh units were sold in the month of August 2022 which are almost 85,000 units more than 9.90 Lakh units of August 2021. This is an impressive increase of 8.50 percent and suggests that we are finally coming out of the COVID-led disruption of the last many months.
| August 2022 Sales | August 2021 Sales |
| 10,74,266 units | 9,89,969 units |
But are we completely out of it? No! Check out the following data..
| Aug 2022 | Aug 2020 | Aug 2019 |
| 10,74,266 units | 9,31,241 units | 12,76,681 units |
In August 2019 – a pre-COVID period, over 12.76 Lac units were sold which means, despite the best August in three years, we are still short by over 2 Lakh units or about 16 percent.
2-Wheeler Lackluster Performance – Reasons
This shortfall can be attributed to the following reasons..
- Insane Price Hikes – This has kept many first time buyers or repeat buyers to put off their purchase. It may have impacted the entry level buyers the most.
- Extremely High Petrol Prices – Petrol prices in India are at their all-time highs and are consistently over that Rs 100 mark all over.
- COVID-impact on families – Covid-led disruptions impacted each and everyone and clearly the weaker section of the society is still not completely out of it. This is showing in sales numbers.
- Very high inflation – From daily vegetables to regular grocery – everyday purchase items have seen remarkable increase in prices. This is clearly impacting the general populace preventing them from buying 2-wheelers.
Honda vs Hero Sales War – Only 85 Units Separated the Two in Aug 2022
Other reasons are erratic monsoon which has impacted crop realization and floods in many parts of the country have limited customer movement.
It is believed that we will come to 2018-19 levels only when inflation subsides and customers get confident of their earnings.
Note –
- These are actual registrations of vehicles at country’s RTOs and represent more realistic figures.
- These numbers contain data from 1337 RTOs (out of 1410) and exclude MP, LD and TS.
