Bajaj Auto Limited lost its position of second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the Indian auto industry to Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Private Limited (HMSI). The latter has outperformed the Bajaj Auto in terms of quarterly sales for the first time since it forayed in the Indian market back in 2001. During the Q1 of current fiscal, Bajaj auto reported a dip of 0.75 per cent over 2011 with sales of 6,18,489 units. On the other hand, HMSI witnessed a massive surge of 53.56 per cent with sales of 6,22,176 units during the period. The information was revealed by the industry lobby, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
Abiding by the silent period protocol followed by the company before the declaration of quarterly earnings, K. Srinivas, President, Motorcycle Business, Bajaj Auto, refused to comment on the figures. However, the comparison between the two companies is not fair considering that the Bajaj Auto does not manufacture scooters and 30 per cent of its sales are accounted from exports. While, HMSI's Operating Head, Sales and Marketing, Y.S. Guleria stated that the company generates over 50 per cent of its total sales from the scooter segment.
An analyst, MSFL Research, Ronak Sarda feels that the rolling out of more than 35,000 units of New Discover 125cc and Pulsar 200 NS will help Bajaj revive its sales during the festive season. On the other hand, erstwhile partner and current rival of Honda, Hero MotoCorp's sales stood at 1.6 million units in the quarter ended June, 2012, which stood more than double of HMSI's sales.
HMSI has been very keen on moving ahead ever since its split with Hero Group in 2011 and its three manufacturing facilities are expected to take their annual production capacity to 4 million units by the mid 2013. In May 2012, the two-wheeler maker proclaimed that it aims at bagging the peak position in the segment before the end of 2020. The company is eyeing a surge in sales contribution to its parent company Honda Motor Company Limited to 30 per cent by 2020, improving from 13 per cent in fiscal 2012.
The former second position holder in two-wheeler segment, Bajaj Auto has been losing out to HMSI since quite a while. During the first three months of current fiscal, it witnessed a downfall of two per cent in its market share to 17.5 per cent. At the same time, Honda reported a northbound climb in its share from 12.52 per cent to 17.68 per cent.
