Scooter sales grow 41 percent in April-September period

The scooter segment in India’s ginormous two-wheeler market witnessed a substantial growth in sales during the April-September 2022 period. According to the data released by the SIAM, a total of 27,64,127 units, up 41 percent year on year (YoY), were sold, marking a revival of sorts.

• Honda Activa April-September sales give it 43 percent scooter market share

• TVS Jupiter sales grow 95 percent in April-September 2022 period

• Okinawa Praise Pro, Ather 450X EVs make it to top 15 scooters list

Honda Activa rules the roost

The word Activa has become synonymous with scooters and Honda’s bestselling model continues its reign at the top. The Activa dominated FY2023, selling 11,77,626 units and recording a 41 percent YoY growth (first half of FY2022: 8,33,925 units). Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) currently has a 48.56 percent market share, which in turn means the Activa on its own has a 43 percent share of India’s scooter market!

The TVS Jupiter, which has nearly doubled its volumes YoY, registered sales of 3,97,984 units in the first half of FY2023, posting a strong 95 percent growth, which gives it 14 percent share of the market. TVS sold a total of 6,57,703 scooters in the first-half of this fiscal, giving it 24 percent market share.

At the third position is the Suzuki Access with 2,31,438 units and an 8 percent market share. The Suzuki Access 125 sits comfortably atop the 125cc family scooter segment but has seen demand slowing down, particularly with the Jupiter 125 eating into its market. Its numbers are down 2 percent YoY and it is one of four scooters, along with the Hero Pleasure, Yamaha Ray and Yamaha Fascino, to see a sales decline. 

 The Honda Dio with 158,917 units is ahead of the TVS NTorq’s 157,526 units by 1,391 units only. And, interestingly, both have logged exactly the same YoY increase – 32% – which means the coming months should see the battle between the two intensifying.

Interestingly, the top five products – Honda Activa, TVS Jupiter, Suzuki Access, Honda Dio and the TVS NTorq – are the ones with six-figure cumulative sales and together constitute 77 percent of overall scooter industry sales.

The Hero Pleasure, with 91,419 units, is down 4 percent on year-ago cumulative sales of 95,004 units. Nevertheless, it is still ahead of the No. 7 player by a fair margin.

The maxi-styled 125cc Suzuki Burgman is riding the wave of demand for 125cc scooters, which can be seen in the 35 percent growth it notched with sale of 65,534 units. That’s just what the next player, Hero Destini 125 has done too – 61,692 units sold, translating to a 41 percent YoY increase.

Suzuki is doing well with the 125cc Avenis – the third scooter to be rolled out on the Suzuki 125cc platform – which sits in the Top 15 list. Its most striking aspect and the biggest way in which it differs from the Access is the design. With an edgy look full of cuts and creases, the Avenis cuts a rather sporty figure and is definitely striking to look at, the obvious TVS Ntorq comparisons notwithstanding. The scooter has been on sale for less than a year. The Avenis has sold 55,040 units over the past six months, which makes for a monthly average of 9,173 units; it’s way below the 125cc market leader Ntorq, which has a monthly average of 26,254 units.

Both Yamaha scooters – Ray and Fascino – are feeling the heat of the growing competition. While the Ray sold 49,024 units, down 2 percent, the Fascino, with 46,266 units, is down 8 percent on year-ago 50,307 units and is in 13th position. TVS Zest takes No. 14 position with 30,877 units and has clocked 62 percent YoY growth.

Two EVs make it to the list

The rate at which Indians are adopting electric scooters has been rising quite rapidly, and it’s no surprise that we have not one but two electric scooters among the top 15 scooters in India. The Okinawa Praise Pro and the Ather 450X occupy the 11th and 15th positions on the rankings table but serve to show the gradual and increasing shift of scooter buyers to electric vehicles. The Okinawa Praise Pro, the first electric scooter in India’s Top 15 scooters list, checks in at No. 11 with 47,684 units. Wrapping up the Top 15 bestsellers’ table is the Ather 450X with 28,653 units. Mirroring the same trend as the overall e-scooter market, which has notched retails of over 2,75,000 units in the first half of FY2023 (up 404 percent), the Ather 450X has sold a total of 28,653 units, averaging 4,775 units a month.

While this analysis of the scooter industry in the Indian market is specific only to nine SIAM member companies, which now include EV makers like Okinawa and Ather, it is to be noted that Ola Electric has registered strong retail numbers in the April-September 2022 period. Ola Electric, which is not a SIAM-member company, retailed a total of 44,801 S1 Pro scooters in the first half of FY2023.