Two-wheeler sales rev up in April led by strong show in home market

In April, rural stress and weak exports continued to exert pressure on overall two-wheeler volumes. (Image: Pixabay)

In a month that saw the introduction of Stage 2 BS-VI emission norms, most two-wheeler makers in the country posted healthy growth figures in the domestic market. However, rural stress and weak exports continued to exert pressure on overall two-wheeler volumes in April.

Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest two-wheeler maker, did not match up to its performance a year ago. The company revealed that its total wholesales (shipments to dealers) declined by 5 percent year on year to 3,96,107 units in April, from 4,18,622 units in the year-ago period. Domestic sales also went down to 3,86,184 units from 3,98,490 units in April 2022.  Exports also dipped to 9,923 units last month from 20,132 units in the year-ago period.

“The company expects the momentum to build up in the coming months on account of a combination of multiple factors, including a slew of new product launches, healthy growth in the country's GDP and positive consumer sentiments,” Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.

Bajaj Auto Ltd.'s total two-wheeler sales rose 2% to 287,985 units in April from 281,711 units in the same month last year. The company’s two-wheeler sales in the domestic market soared 95 percent to 181,828 lakh units in April from 93,233 units a year ago. However, exports of two-wheelers plummeted 44 percent to 106,157 units last month from 188,478 units a year ago.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) said its domestic wholesales increased 6 percent to 3,38,289 units in April. The company had dispatched 3,18,734 units in April 2022. Also, last month, its exports went down to 36,458 units from 42,295 units in April 2022.

TVS Motor Company reported a 24 percent increase in total sales  across segments ((including three-wheelers) to 2,95,308 units in April. The company had posted total sales of 2,38,983 units in the same month last year. Total two-wheeler sales rose 24 percent to 2,80,022 units last month, as against sales of 2,26,193 units in April 2022.  TVS’s domestic two-wheeler sales stood at 1,80,533 units last month as compared to 1,31,386 units in the year-ago month.

"The shortage in the supply of semiconductors has impacted the production and sales of premium two-wheelers. Just as we had done last year, we are working aggressively with alternate [sic] sources and taking every effort to improve supplies at the earliest,” TVS Motor said.

Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. (SMIPL) registered overall sales of 88,731 units in April. The company sold 67,259 units in the domestic market and exported 21,472 units during the month. Overall, the company witnessed 23.3% year-on-year growth in April as compared to the same month last year.

“This consistent sales performance is the result of growing demand for Suzuki two-wheelers in India and in the overseas markets,” said Kenichi Umeda, the Japanese company’s Managing Director.

Credit Ratings agency ICRA reckons that wholesale dispatches of two wheelers improved in April, aided to an extent by a recovery in rural sentiment. In April 2023, domestic wholesale volumes are estimated to have been at approximately 1.35 million units, representing a growth of around 5 percent on a sequential basis and a healthy 14 percent or so on a year-on-year basis, it said.

“Despite the growth in volumes, there continue to be concerns regarding sustenance of the demand recovery on account of the material rise in cost of ownership over the past few years,” said Rohan Kanwar Gupta, Vice President & Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited.