The slowdown in the economy and the buyers' aversion to loosen their purse strings appear to be catching up with the two-wheeler segment as well with Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) witnessing a decline in sales of motorcycles and commercial vehicles in February compared to the same month in the previous year.
What probably gave a cushion to the company was the upturn in exports that accounted for almost 40 per cent of the total sales during the last month.
According to BAL, the company sold 2,91,297 motorcycles (3,01,961 units) in the month, a decline of 4 per cent. The sales of commercial vehicles too were down to 41,090 units (41,816 vehicles), a 2 per cent fall. The total sales were 3,32,387 units (3,43,777 vehicles), a decline of 3 per cent.
Of this, exports accounted for 1,35,149 vehicles (1,22,727 vehicles), a 10 per cent jump and the highest ever February exports.
But the Year-to-Date (YTD) figures show a decline in sales during 2012-13 compared to the same period (April-Feb) during last year. In the current fiscal so far, the sale of motorcycles was 34,90,068 units (35,33,557 vehicles), a decline of one per cent. Commercial vehicles' sale was 4,45,863 units compared to 4,80,488 vehicles during the April-February period, a fall of 7 per cent. The total sales was down by 2 per cent. Exports also witnessed a fall of 2 per cent during April 2012-Feb 2013 compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.