Sales of automatic scooters have grown by over 20 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year. During the April to June period, 16,47,690 scooters were sold, compared to 13,72,388 scooters sold a year ago. And it's Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), which is leading scooter sales, accounting for over 59 per cent of total scooter sales in the same period. According to data published by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Honda scooters sales alone grew 22 per cent in the same period, when Honda sold 9,73,725 scooters in the April - June 2017 period, up from 7,97,114 scooters sold a year ago.
TVS Motor Company occupies second place in overall scooters sales with 2,12,199 TVS scooters sold in the same period. TVS has 12.87 per cent share of overall scooter sales, followed by Hero MotoCorp with 12.73 per cent of total sales. Hero sold 2,09,790 scooters in the same period. In June 2017, Honda scooter sales slowed down, due to market uncertainties over GST. Still, Honda sold 2,71,017 scooters in June, posting a growth of 2 per cent over the same month a year ago.
"Six out of 10 two-wheelers sold in India belong to the 100-110 cc segment. Within this segment, automatic scooters have witnessed tremendous growth and now count for almost half of the total size," says Minoru Kato, President and CEO, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India.
Honda Cliq is targeted at the rural and semi-urban markets
In June, Honda also launched a new automatic scooter, the Cliq, targeted primarily at rural and semi-urban markets. The Honda Cliq is based on the Activa, and HMSI says it is targeted to wean away a section of the largest two-wheeler volumes in the 100-110 cc motorcycle space. These bikes still outsell automatic scooters, primarily due to their superior fuel economy and attractive price tags. In June 2017, 5,73,647 commuter bikes in the 100-110 cc segment were sold, but scooters are gradually gaining ground, with as many as 4,97,478 scooters sold in June 2017.
