Hero retains its top spot in September 2022 two-wheeler sales chart

With the festive season approaching fast, manufacturers have been reporting a solid uptick in their sales numbers. Further, offices and schools have now opened up fully, with the pandemic now firmly and thankfully in the rear-view mirror, encouraging demand for mobility solutions. This month saw Honda close its gap to Hero, with less than 20,000 units separating the two industry heavyweights. Suzuki Motorcycle India had their best-ever month since they started their Indian operations back in 2006. Here’s how each manufacturer performed:

Hero MotoCorp: 5,07,690 units

The world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer retained its position as top dog, with a total of 5,07,690 units sold domestically in September. This represents a month-on-month growth of 12.6 percent over last month’s figures. Year-on-year, there has been a marginal increase as well, of 0.4 percent over the figures reported in September 2021.

Hero has reported growth in the domestic market but exports are where it has really taken a hit. While monthly exports, at 12,290 units, have shown an increase of 3.5 percent, YoY figures have shown a steep decline. Exports for the Indian automaker have fallen by 50.6 percent compared to last year when it managed 24,884 units.  

Hero is gearing up to launch its first e-scooter under the Vida sub-brand and has even partnered with premium American electric bikemaker Zero, which could possibly yield an electric motorcycle down the line. 

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI): 4,88,924 units

HMSI has been steadily closing the gap to Hero, the difference this time around being only 18,766 units. Honda managed to sell 4,88,924 units in September, marking an increase of 15.5 percent over its sales figures in August. Even when compared to its sales figures for September 2021, it reported an increase of 5.4 percent. 

However, just like Hero, HMSI’s export figures have slumped this month. Compared to its figures for August (39,307 units), Honda could only manage 29,635 units this month, marking a decline of 24.6 percent. While MoM export figures have taken a hit, YoY figures have shown a marked increase of 62.6 percent. 

TVS Motor Company: 2,83,878 units

TVS, unlike other manufacturers, hasn’t quite enjoyed the same success in the domestic market. Compared to its sales figures for August, its September figures, 2,83,878 units, showed a substantial decline of 10 percent. While month-on-month TVS’ sales showed a decline, things were quite the opposite in year-on-year sales. Compared to its figures for September last year (2,44,084 units), TVS posted a growth of 16 percent. 

In export markets, TVS has fared slightly better and was able to manage sales of 77,851 units, marking an increase of 2.1 percent, when compared to its figures for last month (76,214 units). The two-wheeler EV space is also where TVS has shown steady growth, with its iQube e-scooter managing to find 4,923 units, an increase of 11.4 percent when compared to its figure for August, 4,418 units.  

Suzuki Motorcycle India: 72,012 units

With domestic sales of 72,012 units in September, Suzuki recorded a growth of 11.4 percent compared to its sales for the previous month. This figure is the highest ever recorded by the Hamamatsu-based bikemaker ever since it started its Indian operations back in 2006. When compared to their figures for September of last year (55,608 units), it marks a rather substantial increase of 29.5 percent as well. 

While Suzuki Motorcycle India has had its best-ever month domestically, export figures have taken a slight downward turn. When compared to its figures for August (14,905 units), its figures for last month, 14,738 units, showed a marginal decline of 1.1 percent.

Royal Enfield: 73,646 units

Domestically, Royal Enfield has managed to increase its sales compared to last month by 18.3 percent, with a total of 73,646 units sold this month. While there has been a massive jump of 170 percent when YoY sales are compared, it bears mentioning that those figures don’t paint an accurate picture as the nation was still recovering from the pandemic.  

Flourishing not only domestically but also in international markets, Royal Enfield managed to export 8,451 units last month, when compared to its August figure of 7,876 units, an increase of 7.3 percent. When compared to its export figures for last year, which stood at 6,296 units, exports have also increased significantly by 34.2 percent.

The launch of the Hunter 350, its lightest and most accessible product, has no doubt helped RE manage these stellar numbers, both on home soil as well as overseas. 

Bajaj Auto: 2,22,912 units

Compared to their sales figures for August, the Pune-based bikemaker has reported a slight decline of 4.6 percent, with sales of 2,22,912 units in September. Their figures have improved by 28 percent when compared to September of last year, which stood at 1,73,945 units. 

Exports however, have favoured Bajaj, with 1,25,443 units shipped in September, up by 3 percent over the 1,21,787 units it could manage in August. This number, however, isn’t as high as their figure in July, when they could manage 1,50,670 units.