Hero MotoCorp expands lead over Honda in current fiscal
New Delhi: The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp has increased its lead over rival Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) to over 2.15 lakh units in the first two months of the current fiscal.
According to the latest Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data, Hero has sold 13,70,393 units in April and May as compared with 11,54,911 units sold by HMSI during the period, thus registering a gap of over 2.15 lakh units.
During the same period of previous fiscal, Hero had sold 11,98,674 units as compared with 10,62,113 units of HMSI, a gap of over 1.36 lakh units. With increase in sales, Hero has also been able to regain some of the market share which it had lost to competition over the past few years.
At the end of May, Hero's overall market share in the domestic two-wheeler market stood at 37.4 per cent - a gain of more than 1 per cent over the same period last year, when its market share stood at 36.2 per cent.
In the domestic motorcycle market, Hero continues to command over 50 per cent market share. In the scooter segment, however, the company's market share currently stands at around 10 per cent.
Last month, the company sold 7,06,365 units of motorcycles and scooters – a growth of 11 per cent as compared with 6,33,884 units in May 2017. In 2017-18, Hero had sold a total of 73,82,718 units as compared to HMSI's 57,75,287 lakh units.
The total sales of scooters and motorcycles in India stood at 1,93,33,152 units last fiscal. When contacted, a Hero MotoCorp official told PTI that with the forecast of a good monsoon this year the company is well placed to leverage uptick in market demand with the upcoming introduction of new models during the year.
"A normal monsoon bodes well for Hero as half of its sales comes from the rural market," the official added. Comments from HMSI could not be obtained immediately.