Two-wheeler sales volumes in July muted 

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Even as semiconductor supply constraints are easing for automakers, sales in the two-wheeler segment remained muted in July, both over the last year and on a sequential basis.

Still, most two-wheeler makers are anticipating sustained growth over the next few quarters because of a favourable monsoon and improvements in the supply chain.

Hero MotoCorp on Monday reported that it sold 445,580 units in July 2022, against 454,398 units in July 2021, a marginal Y-o-Y increase of 1.9 percent.

Out of these, domestic sales stood at 430,685 units in the past month, a small increase of over 429,208 units sold in July 2021.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India sold 443,643 two-wheelers last month, a 15 percent YoY increase. Last month, while 402,701 units were sold in the domestic market, the remaining 40,942 units were exported to other countries.

Domestic sales in the month increased 18 percent over the same month last year, when 340,420 units were sold.

Consumer  sentiment 

Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said: “Performance in the first quarter has been really encouraging with positive customer sentiment in the market. Factors like good monsoon and increased demand for personal mobility has translated well to rise in customer walk-ins and enquiries.”

TVS Motor Company notched up an increase of 13 percent in July 2022 with sales of 314,639 units as against 278,855 units in July 2021. Its total two-wheeler sales increased 14 percent in July 2022 from 262,728 units a year ago to 299,658 units. Domestic two-wheeler sales rose 15 percent from 175,169 units in July 2021 to 201,942 units.

Suzuki Motorcycle India recorded overall sales of 76,230 units in July 2022, a year-on-year increase of 4.3 percent. The company sold 60,892 units in the domestic market and exported 15,338 units.

“This sales number shows an increasing demand for Suzuki two-wheeler products in India and overseas. With the gradual improvement in the supply chain, we expect to keep witnessing this sales momentum in future too,” Satoshi Uchida, Managing Director, Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd. said.

Cautiously optimistic 

According to ICRA, in July 2022, the two-wheeler industry posted a 6 percent sequential growth in domestic wholesale volumes (as per data released by 6 major Original Equipment Manufacturers). These were 9 percent higher on a YoY basis, raising hopes of a gradual demand improvement. In contrast, the retail sales saw a 7 percent sequential (-8 percent YoY) fall in volumes, to 10.4 lakh units, attributable to continuing impact of elevated 2W prices and inflationary headwinds on consumer sentiments, especially those at the lower end of the demand pyramid.

“Despite the headwinds, the industry remains cautiously optimistic about recovery in the upcoming festive period, backed by timely arrival of the monsoons, MSP hikes for kharif crop, line-up of new products, easing supply chain constraints and gradual cooling-off in commodity prices," maintains  Rohan  Kanwar Gupta, Vice President & Sector Head - Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited.