Surprising it may sound, but it is a bona fide fact that scooters have outgrown the popularity and sales of motorbikes in India. Recently revealed sales figures indicate that Honda Activa has overshadowed the demand for market leader Hero Splendor in the top slot. Major catalysts that have altered the decade old scenario in the two-wheeler segment are the better urban infrastructure and a broadening women customer base. In fact, scooters are the prominent two-wheelers that are gaining acclaim rapidly in the booming Indian automotive market and are now beating the bikes to the goalpost, with skyrocketing sales figures. Industry experts are of a view that all of this can be attributed to the rapid urbanisation.
With over 142,000 buyers in the month of September, the Honda Activa outmanoeuvred the country's long standing best seller, Hero Splendor, which sold about 124,217 units, during the same month. Reportedly, in the first six months of this fiscal, sales of Hero Splendor has declined by 15.5 per cent to a little over 900,000 units, while Activa that has a 43 per cent share in the scooter segment, witnessed a shoot up by 17 per cent to 718,888 units in the same span of time. As indicated, over the past 4 years, the sales of scooter has inflated by 26 per cent as against 14.7 per cent for motorbikes and this trend is likely to continue in the coming years.
YS Guleria, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) was quoted as saying "Most of Activa's customers are from urban- or semi-urban pockets and rural areas account for only 20 per cent of its sales," Another industry expert said “Scooter is a predominantly urban vehicle and women are a significant chunk of users. As urbanisation picks up and women exert their independence, sales would grow. Also many men in the 30-plus age group are now also looking at scooters.”
The increased numbered of young college goers and female commuters have greased the wheels for the elevated sales of Honda Activa. Moreover, scooters are noted as a cheaper, faster and more convenient mode of transport, which has made it a popular choice amongst the people. It is notable that India's motorcycle market is over three times the size of scooters, with over 10 million units per annum, but due to the dormant demand for the same, the sales for scooters have bloated. To keep up with the dynamic trends in the automobile industry, a number of motorcycle manufacturers are focusing on making scooters instead. Other than Bajaj, every other two-wheeler manufacturer, namely Hero MotoCorp, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, TVS, Vespa and Mahindra are working towards setting their roots in the scooter segment.
