Hero HF Deluxe Overtakes Splendor As Best-Selling Motorcycle In January 2020

It now becomes the second best-selling two-wheeler after the Honda Activa

• This despite the HF Deluxe selling 3,871 units less than it did in January last year. 
• It, however, sold 52,924 units more than it did last month.
• The Honda Activa sold 2,34,749 units in January 2020.

The two-wheeler sales figures for the month of January 2020 have come in there is a new king of the hill: The Hero HF Deluxe has overtaken the Splendor in terms of sales. The commuter beat its premium cousin to the best selling motorcycle crown by a narrow margin of 3,246 motorcycles.  Now, the Hero HF Deluxe becomes the second-best selling two-wheeler in the world behind the Honda Activa that sold 2,34,749 units in the month of January.

Also read: Hero HF Deluxe: BS4 vs BS6 Differences

The HF Deluxe managed this feat despite posting a 2 percent decline in Year-On-Year (YoY) sales. In fact last month, the HF Deluxe was trailing behind the Splendor by a massive 23,642 units. So it is commendable that the HF Deluxe managed to post such a significant growth in sales. A part of the reason is due to the Splendor witnessing a substantial 16 percent decline in YoY January sales as well. 

The Splendor iSmart was the first Hero motorcycle to get a BS6-compliant motor in November last year. It was followed by the HF Deluxe BS6 launch in December 2019 and then the Splendor + BS6 this month. All three motorcycle now get fuel-injection as standard. Interestingly, the Hero HF Deluxe BS6 sees the maximum price hike among the three commanding around Rs 8,500 compared to around Rs 7,000 for the Splendor BS6 and around Rs 7,500 for the Splendor iSmart BS6 variants. 

According to industry insiders, the sudden surge in HF Deluxe sales is not an unnatural phenomenon but a gradual result of Hero dealers focussing more on the Deluxe sales since the 3rd quarter of 2019. They have managed to pull away potential Bajaj CT100 customers, a direct HF Deluxe rival. Such customers preferred the HF Deluxe over the Splendor thanks to the former offering features like self-start, alloy wheels and i3S start-stop tech. This process did cannibalise prospective Splendor customers as in the customer’s eyes, the HF Deluxe offered the same performance, fuel efficiency and features as the Splendor but at a lower price point. 

It remains to be seen if the HF Deluxe manages to stay on top next month as well. 

Source: Auto Punditz