In a rather surprising development, TVS Motor has trumped Bajaj Auto to become the third best two-wheeler manufacturer in the domestic market in terms of sales, putting itself behind Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI). The Chennai based company has been making great progress in the Indian market and overcoming Bajaj Auto is a great achievement for it.
Statistics claim that sales of TVS Motor have exceeded those registered by Bajaj Auto in the month of June and consequently, for the April-June quarter as well. The data was released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the industry body of the country’s automobile market.
Industry experts believe that the growth shown by TVS Motor is not that surprising, given how diverse a portfolio it possesses. The market, at present, has a wide range of products from TVS Motor, which include scooters, motorcycles and mopeds, thereby catering to a wide range of customers. Bajaj, on the other hand, has lost the plot due to its exit from the scooter segment, which it ruled in India for a long time before turning attention to motorcycles.
Many industry experts feel that even though the feat achieved by TVS Motor Company is excellent, it might be a one-off occurrence. Nevertheless, nothing can be taken away from the hard put in by the firm, which has seen so much in the past few years in terms of ups and downs. An anonymous person, spoke about the situation and said, “The multiple-product strategy for the company has worked and help it to gain lead over the rivals." TVS Motor, on their part, did not make any sort of comment about this development.
The TVS Jupiter, a newly launched scooter from the Indian company, has been the stand-out performer for the firm, enabling it to notch up large sales. Not only has this, according to analysts, the scooter been the main reason behind TVS Motor’s overtaking of Bajaj in the third spot. TVS Motor, according to statistics, has recorded sales of over a lakh scooters in the first quarter itself, thereby gaining an edge over its rivals.
Industry experts have cited the fast growth of the scooter segment as the main reason behind this development, saying that all companies that have a present in this peripheral can do really well in the future. According to statistics, Hero MotoCorp and HMSI have benefited quite a lot from the progress this segment has shown and is also worth investing in the future.
Abdul Majeed, a partner and analyst at PwC, spoke to ET, and said, "A few years ago, Honda displaced TVS Motor and then Bajaj Auto to take the second spot, while now TVS has trudged to the third spot, signalling the shifting dynamics of the Indian market and shifting customer preference."
This report and development, however, has not made any difference to Bajaj Auto, which still remains to be one of the most profitable firms in the market and is riding high due to the progress made by it in the export market.
The Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj, speaking to ET, said, “Bajaj's strategy is to dominate multiple markets in one category, whereas that of our domestic rivals appears to be to dominate one country - India - in multiple categories. As a global company with a huge exports base, we are primarily the No. 1 by far in terms of profitability."
