[DukeNukem]

The current economic climate seems to have finally enveloped the two-wheeler industry as well. Three of India’s top four 2-wheeler manufacturers reported a sales decline in July 2012.

Factors like the high interest rates, petrol prices, sluggish economy and a patchy monsoon are likely to have contributed to this development. Low agricultural output means lesser disposable income for rural India, who makes up the majority of two-wheeler customers in India.

Hero MotoCorp, which has about 40% of the domestic market share, declared a 1.5% year-on-year drop in sales. It shipped about 4.84 lakh units this July against 4.91 sold last July. The aforementioned factors have definitely hit Hero’s growth but with the PassionPro 110 due to be its third launch of the year, Hero expects sales to normalise by Diwali.

Bajaj Auto meanwhile, sold 2.9% less units. Sales went down to 3.09 lakh units this July from 3.18 lakh units a year ago. Bajaj’s sales figures were largely hit by the decline in its exports, attributed to the increase in import duties in Sri Lanka, one of its main importers. But with recent launches like the Discover 125 ST and the Pulsar 200 NS, the growth is expected to move in a positive direction soon.

Chennai-based TVS Motors continued its downward slide and was the biggest loser in July with a 15.1% drop in sales; they only sold 1.61 lakh units against 1.89 lakh units last July. Its exports were worse off, down by a massive 32.7%. Their problems don’t end there. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) recently took the third spot in two-wheeler manufacturing from TVS. Only the moped segment has not let TVS down yet.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) bucked the general trend and reported a 56.9% year-on-year growth in sales for July at 2.39 lakh units, ably supported by strong scooter sales. They also recently launched the 110-cc ‘Dream Yuga’. A new plant in Karnataka, with a capacity of 12 lakh units a year, is expected to be operational by next year.

Fellow Japanese manufacturer, Suzuki Motorcycle India also posted strong growth at 48.76%, albeit at comparatively low volumes of 40,295 units for July. There is also the upcoming launch of its mass segment bike Hayate.

[revv_maniac]

Originally Posted by DukeNukem

The current economic climate seems to have finally enveloped the two-wheeler industry as well. Three of India’s top four 2-wheeler manufacturers reported a sales decline in July 2012.

Fellow Japanese manufacturer, Suzuki Motorcycle India also posted strong growth at 48.76%, albeit at comparatively low volumes of 40,295 units for July. There is also the upcoming launch of its mass segment bike Hayate.

Well said, but Honda's approach has always been too sober and lethargic to be eventful. Their launches has nothing new to offer except for the CBR 250 which was a couple of years back already.

Dazzler - body panel change, add a rear disc and ship out the same Unicorn with the refinement going for a toss.

Dream yuga - Scaled down version of Twister with Chinese bloodline.

Twister - good, smooth engine but over priced for what it offered with puny tires.

Shine - Good offering with boring looks, 4 speed gearbox with all down pattern , not-so-international at all.

Stunner - pepped up Shine with 5 speed cog, nothing much to offer than the wannabes who wanted the half naked fairing.

Activa - only true performer but unchanged for a decade now, still does not have obsolete front fork setup.

Dio, Aviator - boring same engine, except for dio's looks.

Looks like Honda makes one engine and downgrade it a few bit and release couple of bikes and then upgrade it release a couple of bikes by playing around with Bore x Stroke.

It replicates the same with the four wheel industry too.

No comments about Hero though.

now i have got a soft corner for Bajaj and TVS for trying out new offerings and being creative comparatively.

Disclaimer : I am not a Honda basher, no offense to Honda fans and those who own them. I am just venting out my disappointment from an international benchmark petrol engine maker with lackadaisical behavior.

Not so happy biker,
Chaos

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by revv_maniac

except for the CBR 250 which was a couple of years back already.

Couple of years??? 2, 3 or 4 years you are referring to?


Honda has also launched CBR 1000RR Fireblade.
The CB 1000R
The VFR 1200

If the products are that bad, it shouldn't be selling. No enthusiast would be buying a 125cc Motorcycle until & unless it is an Aprilia RS4 125.

As an affordable 250cc, the CBR has done its job. Sure it has its shortcomings, but then no product is perfect, far from it.

Looks like Honda makes one engine and downgrade it a few bit and release couple of bikes and then upgrade it release a couple of bikes by playing around with Bore x Stroke.

Why single out Honda? So what is on platter of the other manufacturers? The same old products doing the round for more than 5 years at the bare minimum.

now i have got a soft corner for Bajaj and TVS for trying out new offerings and being creative comparatively.

What new has TVS offered? And Bajaj? Save for P 200 NS, I dunno how many times have they launched the Pulsar & Discover in so many iterations.

Truth be told, all manufacturers are the same @ India. Pathetic. There should be a reason as to why Honda's sales rose despite others nose-diving.

I personally do not think highly of any particular manufacturer. So no bias here.

[mac187]

My assessment of the current scenario.

Hero will see futher decline as they were happy rebadging bikes from Honda. Now that Honda has moved away, they are still yet to make a bike of their own. Their R&D unit must be busy squatting flies. Until they get serious in building their own bike, they won't survive long.

Bajaj has done exceptionally well in developing new engines and new bikes. Their DTSI/ Triple Spark plug may sound silly by they have atleast tried to do something. Partnerships with KTM is a good move, KTM has big range of vehicles which they can ride on to cater to their target audience. The enthusiast.

TVS is a very under rated manufacturer. They had tasted success with TVS Victor a good product with a brand ambassador at the peak of this career. TVS Star didn’t recreate that magic but I feel Apache is a good brand and has lost to the army of Pulsars (150/ 180/ 200/ 220). Also their product line up is very small. They need to find a new product which would create a good recall for them.

Export is a big chunk of the numbers of Bajaj, they used to sell a lot of boxer to the African market. Hence maybe the dip in numbers but I feel Bajaj would be the No.1 soon.

[Passiautonate]

No offence meant but for me TVS is something which try to offer something radically new but the efforts are "HALF BAKED". Their efforts should be applauded but product improvement is something in which company lacks.
I admire Bajaj, as they are an ever improving brand. Pulsar 200NS is ahead of previous gen pulsar and this as a brand has improved with every generation.

Well coming back to TVS, I used to ride a Fiero in 2001. I loved the bike for its nimble handling, good power to weight ratio and engine refinement.In 2012, I was in market again and tried Apache and noticed no improvement whatsoever. Common man its been 11 long years. There new 180 cc offering is giving 17BHP only while Bajaj is extracting 24 horses out of Pulsar and is predictably FASTER and BETTER.

Moreover, niggling issues like vibrations, pathetic tyres and the overall frontal suspension agony has still not been sorted out.

But, TVS has been instrumental in bringing new technologies like Fuel injection (it was in my 2001 model Fiero and I was so lame to know what it is expect that they use same in cars like M800- I waas so proud as I had only the second Fiero bike in whole of the town and that too with a car's technology )
Adding further, TVS has come with ABS at an affordable price which is indeed a great achievement. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow the suit.

Regards,
Neeraj