Hero Honda rides the Hunk to stay ahead

Hero Honda, the country's largest two-wheeler company, recorded a marginal 0.17 per cent rise in sales at 298,050 units in January compared with 297,554 units for the same month last year.

The company's volume growth in a disappointing two-wheeler market came primarily from its newly-launched bike Hunk, which, according to the company, doubled its volume and share in the premium market.

Pawan Munjal, MD and CEO, Hero Honda Motors, said, "The sales numbers reflect a good start to the calendar year. Given the industry performance all through this fiscal, we are extremely enthused by our robust financial numbers for Q3 as well as our outstanding sales performance this month. Our new launches have been doing very well across segments."

Meanwhile, Pune-based Bajaj Auto posted a massive 15 per cent fall in motorcycle sales in January at 166,492 units compared with 195,560 units posted for the same month a year ago.

The fall is attributed to the market shrinkage in the 100cc segment. Bajaj has already declared that it has reduced its focus on the low-margin entry-level segment (100cc) and bank on the higher engine capacity bikes.

The company, which is India's second-largest two-wheeler company, reported growth in the 125cc + motorcycle segment but 20 per cent fall in the 100cc segment.

"Falling sales have put pressure on the company's margins and this has been the trend throughout the year. Sales have been flat to negative during the year and the trend may not change in the coming two months," said a Mumbai-based analyst.

Chennai-based TVS Motors also reported a sales decline of 30 per cent for its two wheelers at 80,277 units compared with 114,098 units during the corresponding period last year.

The sales of motorcycles came down to 38,961 units for the month compared with 69,634 units for the same month a year ago. The company blamed the reduced availability of finance, high interest rates and stringent financing norms for the sales debacle.