Two-Wheeler Sales March 2017: Manufacturers Register Positive Numbers

As the month of March 2017 drew to a close, the Supreme Court announced its decision to uphold the ban on the sales and registration of BS III vehicles across the country. Of course, this sent the automotive manufacturers into a tizzy, with many of them offering cash discounts on their models. This led to a huge boost in the sales numbers for almost all manufacturers over the last two days of March 2017. Were these two-wheeler manufacturers able to clear their two-wheeler stocks in time, this is a question that we will answer soon but it definitely added to the overall end of FY 17 sales numbers. All two-wheeler manufacturers listed here have shown positive growth, with the exception of Bajaj Auto. Here is a lowdown on how each company fared in the month of March 2017 for two-wheeler sales.

(Hero was one of the first manufacturers to offer attractive discounts on all its BS III models)

For the fifth time in FY 2016-17, Hero surpassed the 6 lakh mark for monthly sales in March 2017. The company sold 6, 09,951 units in the previous month as compared to 6, 06,542 units in March 2016, recording a growth of a mere 0.56 per cent.

2. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India:

(Honda Two-Wheeler India crossed the 3 million scooter sales mark for the first time in FY 2016-17)

While Honda did not share the monthly sales figures for March 2017 specifically; it did mention that for the very first time, the company crossed the mark of 5 million units sold in a financial year. For FY 2016-17, Honda sold 50, 08,103 units with 12 per cent growth over 44, 83,462 units sold in FY 2015-16. It also reached an all-time high market share of 27 per cent in FY 2016-17. Honda also breached the 3 million units sold mark for its total scooter sales for the first time ever to reach at 33,51,604 units with 16 per cent growth compared to 28,92,480 units in FY'15-16. Honda had also announced attractive discounts on its stock of BS III two-wheelers after Supreme Court's ban on BS III vehicles.

(Royal Enfield Bikes)

The Chennai-based company saw its best ever sales for the month of March in 2017. Royal Enfield sold a total of 60,113 units (domestic and exports), in March 2017 as compared to 51,320 units sold in March, 2016. This means that the company sold 17 per cent more over last year, for the same month. Speaking on the sales numbers, Rudratej Singh, President Royal Enfield, said, "Royal Enfield has recorded its best ever monthly sales in the month of March 2017 selling 60,113 motorcycles in India and international markets combined posting a growth of 17 per cent over same period last year. We have also recorded a 31 per cent growth in our YTD sales with the highest ever sales of 6, 66,490 motorcycles in FY 2016-17. Owing to our strong order book, we have cleared all BS III inventory in due time. Our customers will be receiving BS IV compliant motorcycles from April 01, 2017".

(Yamaha FZ25)

(Bajaj V12)

While Royal Enfield and Yamaha have had a positive March, Bajaj Auto saw a decline of 14 per cent in its monthly sales for the month of March 2017 as compared to March 2016. With 1, 51,449 units sold in March, 2017, Bajaj sold 14 per cent fewer units than it sold in March 2016. Even with the heavy discount schemes, on the account of Supreme Court's BS III ban ruling, it did not quite help Bajaj get better sales.

(2017 Suzuki Gixxer SF)

(TVS Jupiter BS-IV)