The guys at Hero MotoCorp have managed to record a pretty impressive feat. Not only have they held on to their sales volumes, but have also increased their profitability. In fact, in the first quarter of the financial year 2016-17, the company sold as 17,45,389 units, their highest ever in a quarter. In comparison, their numbers last year in the same months, stood at 16.45 lakh units.
Their big fish is caught in the 100-110 cc segment, which recently saw the introduction of their first indigenously developed motorcycle, the Splendor iSmart 110. However, why I am writing today about Hero is not because of entry level motorcycles or the lack of performance oriented products in its portfolio. With the 125 cc segment shrinking for the past few years, Honda’s supremacy was challenged by Hero first in the month of December last year.
Since then the tide has changed. Hero now claims a market share of more than 50 per cent in the 125 cc segment. In a recent communication to BikeAdvice, they have even confirmed that in the first quarter of the present fiscal sales of the Glamour has grown by 32 per cent. The Super Splendor with a growth of 29 per cent is not far behind (Both of these growth rates are on a year on year basis). This is despite the fact that Hero has not updated the two motorcycles for a long time now!
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Honda though claims that the drop in sales volume of the Shine and Shine SP has been due to the problem with capacity restraint and allocation. When I last spoke to the management, they had claimed that the numbers will be back in limelight only by the festive season. With Activa sales placed firmly ahead of the Splendor, can Honda reach the top again in the 125 cc motorcycle segment?
