Bajaj, Suzuki End FY 2018-19 On A High Note

Royal Enfield’s domestic sales declined by 21 per cent whereas Honda exported more than 3.5 lakh units

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• Bajaj’s Pulsar range crossed one lakh sales mark for the first time in one month. 
• Honda sold more than 52 lakh units in the domestic market.
• TVS saw positive growth in the motorcycle segment; scooter sales witness decline.

With most two-wheeler manufacturers scrambling to update their offerings with ABS or CBS to comply with new safety regulations that came into effect on April 1, you’d have thought that their sales figures would have taken a backseat. Thankfully, that was not the case as Bajaj, Suzuki, Honda and TVS grew in terms of volumes last moth. However, Royal Enfield did witness a slump despite their best efforts in updating their motorcycles and launching the Bullet Trials. Here’s a breakdown of the sales performance of each manufacturer over the last 12 months.

Bajaj:
Bajaj’s domestic sales were up from 1,58,987 to 2,20,213 in the month of March. This translates to a sales growth of 39 per cent. Also, this is the first time ever that the Pulsar range has crossed the 1 lakh sales mark in just one month. The Pulsar comprised of almost 50 per cent of the total sales, which tells us how popular Bajaj’s performance bikes are in the market. However, during the same period, the company saw a dip in its export figures. Last year, the number stood at 1,10,952, whereas this year, the company only exported 1,03,325 units, a decline of 7 per cent. Also, Bajaj recorded its second-highest yearly sales this year. The company sold a whopping 25,41,320 units in the FY 2018-19, a growth of 29 per cent.

The Pune-based bikemaker had recently launched the CBS variants of the Plantina 100 KS (Kick Start) and the Discover 110. We also got to see the 2019 Bajaj Dominar 400, which has undergone a serious makeover. You can read our review here. 

Suzuki:
Suzuki sold a total of 67,025 units in the month of March as opposed to 52,167 that the company sold during the same time period last year. With this, the company saw a growth of 28 per cent. Domestically, the company sold 58,701 units in March, up from 46,848 units that it sold during the same period last year. The Japanese bikemaker also had a fantastic 2018-19 as it sold 7,47,506 units in the fiscal year 2018-19, witnessing a growth of 30 per cent over the previous year. The company is aiming to achieve 10 lakh units in the next fiscal year. Credit for Suzuki’s success goes to the Access 125, which continued to be the highest grossing product for Suzuki in the country. Suzuki has now discontinued the Hayate and Let’s, and will instead focus on 125cc scooters and 150cc motorcycles. Even Suzuki’s maxi-scooter, the Burgman, which was launched last year, is raking in some pretty good numbers. Suzuki sold more than 8,000 units of the Burgman in February 2019.

TVS:
The Hosur-based company saw a slight decline in sales during the last month. At 3,25,345, the total sales were down by 1,322 units. In the domestic market, the company sold 3,10,901 units in March 2019 as opposed to 2,47,710 that the company sold during the same time last year. The yearly sales grew by 12 per cent, increasing from 33.67 lakh units in the year 2017-18 to 37.57 lakh units in the year 2018-19.

Motorcycle sales were on the positive end of the spectrum and saw a growth of 5 per cent whereas the scooter segment of the company saw a decline in sales. The company sold 2,495 units less than what it did last year. As scooter sales decline, TVS may focus on this segment and try to bring it on the positive side. 

Honda:
For the fiscal year 2018-19, Honda sold more than 52 lakh units in the domestic market. That’s not a typo, the Japanese bikemaker did sell a tad more than 52 lakh units in India in one year! Even Honda’s annual exports crossed the 3.5 lakh unit mark for the first time ever in 2018-19. The company exported a total of 3,80,041 units in 2018-19. 

Hero’s Splendor has continued to trump the Activa in terms of sales for quite some time now. A sudden rise in popularity of 125cc scooters and the fact that the Suzuki Access 125 dominating this segment could be a few reasons why the Honda Activa’s sales are declining.

Royal Enfield: 
While Royal Enfield’s exports were up by 28 per cent, domestic sales were down by a whopping 21 per cent. The company sold 58,434 units in March 2019 whereas it sold 74,209 units at the same time last year. Slow monthly sales did affect Royal Enfield’s YoY growth a bit. In the domestic market, RE sold 805,273 units in the fiscal year 2018-19 up from 801,230 that the company sold during 2017-18. That’s a growth of just one per cent. Factors such as the strike at RE’s Chennai factory and an increase in competition could be a few reasons why RE saw a decline in sales.

After inaugurating a new facility in Thailand, Royal Enfield is all set to complete the construction of the Phase-2 of its Vallam Vadagal plant in Tamil Nadu. The company has invested Rs 700 crore and aims to manufacture 950,000 motorcycles annually, which is 1,23,902 units more than RE manufactured in the year 2018-19. Also, the 650 twins which were launched a few months back have been received well by the masses, and we expect that the twins may help boost RE’s future sales.