Honda vs Hero – Sales supremacy battle gets as close as it can get…
So, the inevitable is just round the corner – Honda is about to displace Hero and snatch the largest motorcycle manufacturer tag in the country. With the monthly sales figures for both the manufacturers for April 2018 out, it has been revealed that Honda is just under the throat of Hero.
Honda vs Hero Sales
For April 2018, erstwhile partner, Hero MotoCorp, currently the largest motorcycle maker in India, registered total dispatches of 6,94,022 units. In comparison, Honda, which has been aggressively pursuing Hero, registered total wholesales of whopping 6,81,888 units which is a phenomenal growth of 18 percent and these are the highest numbers for the company ever in India!
This means that the difference between the two companies has narrowed down to 12,134 units ONLY, which is again the closest these two partners have ever come! But remember, these are combined sales numbers for both the brands. While Honda revealed its domestic sales (15 percent growth, 6,35,811 units), Hero kept it under wraps – clear signs of discomfort! Their domestic numbers are expected to be between 6.65 Lakhs to 6.70 Lakhs.
Honda, which is on a rampage in terms of volumes, also registered 4 lakh+ sales of its scooters – which is again a first for the brand. But more importantly, the slow performing motorcycles also witnessed a remarkable hike to register 2 lakh+ numbers, again a first for the Jap brand! Moreover, with an unbelievable 70 percent raise, Honda recorded highest ever export numbers of 46,077 units.
With Honda’s all guns blazing performance, Hero is clearly on the backfoot and it appears to be a matter of a few months when we will have a new number one manufacturer in India in terms of volumes. Credit must be given to Hero as they have maintained the lead for all these years but with reliance still on Honda-sourced technology and engines, they are bound to lose out and it could be sooner than you and I think!
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On the product front, Honda has announced launch of one new product apart from 18 refreshes (details). Hero has also planned some new launches this year including the interesting XPulse.
