Two-wheelers, vehicle registration data shows a 19.89 percent YoY de-growth and a 9.94 percent dip from December 2019 as well
Even as two wheelers are a much favoured mode of travel in a country like India, the past two years have been seeing declining registrations. This could be due to the regular increase in prices of two wheelers coupled with ever escalating fuel prices. However, there is a new found interest in electric two wheelers and the accompanying list is testimony of the same as every electric vehicle manufacturer has posted a significant growth in retail sales.
The onset of Omicron variant has had a deep impact on sales last month. Work and education from home has once again resumed and buyers look upon the months ahead with approaching gloom thereby turning them away from company showrooms. Total two wheeler retails last month stood at 11,48,732 units, down 19.89 percent over 14,33,334 units retailed in December 2020 and down 19.94 percent from 12,75,501 retailed in December 2019.
Two Wheeler Retail Sales Dec 2021 – Hero, Honda and TVS in Top 3
Hero MotoCorp topped the retail sales charts with 3,96,278 units sold last month and commanding a market share of 34.50 percent. This was significantly lower as compared to 5,61,873 units sold in December 2020 when market share was at 30.20 percent. Considering the high demand for electric two wheelers, Hero MotoCorp is gearing up to unveil its first electric vehicle (EV) in March this year. It will be produced at the company’s production facility at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.
Honda two wheeler retails also dipped significantly on a YoY basis to 2,84,837 units over 3,52,394 units sold in December 2020. Market share however, increased from 24.59 percent held in Dec 2020 to 24.80 percent in the past month. The new Honda CB300R is poised for launch. It was showcased at India Bike Week 2021 festival and is slated to go on sale in India later this month.
At No. 3 was TVS Motor Company with retail sales of 1,73,993 units last month. This was against 2,05,568 units sold in December 2020. However, despite lower sales, market share increased from 14.34 percent to 15.15 percent YoY. The company has noted outstanding demand for the new TVS Apache RTR 165 RP with the initial lot of 200 units completely sold out in India.
Bajaj Auto, Suzuki, Royal Enfield
Also posting a YoY de-growth in terms of retail sales were Bajaj Auto, Suzuki and Royal Enfield. Bajaj Auto retails dipped to 1,43,538 units, down from 1,61,713 units sold in December 2020. However market share increased from 11.28 percent to 12.50 percent YoY. Suzuki retails on the other hand saw a marginal decrease to 42,609 units from 45,332 units sold in December 2020.
Royal Enfield retails dipped to 40,102 units in December 2021 from 51,489 units retailed in December 2020. Royal Enfield is expected to launch a slew of new motorcycles this year. It is expected to start off with the Scram 411 in February 2022. Others planned for launch are Hunter 350, Cruiser 650 and Shotgun 650. Yamaha Motors also posted a YoY de-growth in retails down to 37,621 units from 43,080 units sold in December 2020.
Electric Two Wheeler Makers
Electric Two Wheeler Makers, Okinawa, Hero Electric, Ampere, Ather and PUR Electric have all seen steep rise in retail sales. Okinawa in particular, posted retails at 6,098 units, up from 613 units sold in December 2020. Okinawa offers high speed (Ridge+, Praise Pro and iPraise+) and low speed electric scooters (Okinawa R30, Lite and Dual) and now plans added investment to the tune of Rs 200-250 crores in a new plant in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan with a target of 100 percent localization by the end of this financial year.
Hero Electric also saw sales past the 6,000 unit mark at 6,058 units, an increase over 1,545 units sold in December 2020 while Ampere retails stood at 3,343 units up from 872 units retailed in December 2020. Hero AE-47 electric motorcycle may launch sometime later this year and is expected to be priced between Rs 1.3-1.5 lakh.
Ather Energy, another highly successful electric two wheeler maker despite the fact that it sells only two models on offer in India – Ather 450X and 450 Plus. There were other electric vehicle makers in this segment that saw retails at 5,004 units in December 2021, up from 1,534 units sold in December 2020 with market share increasing from 0.11 percent to 0.44 percent respectively.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
