Undeterred by the slump in the automobile market, two-wheeler manufacturers in India aim to post decent sales this financial year, buoyed by good sales in November.
While Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer India Yamaha aims to sell over four lakh units, rival Bajaj Auto plans to sell four million units.
India Yamaha Motor Director-Sales and Marketing, Mr Jun Nakata, said the company planned to sell over four lakh units, aiming to garner 10 per cent market share in the next few years.
“We are looking to sell 4.8 lakh motorcycles this fiscal and are looking to achieve overall 10 per cent market share over the next few years,” Mr Jun Nakata told PTI.
In November alone, India Yamaha reported a 29.2 per cent increase in total sales to 39,162 units. The company had sold 30,310 units in the same month last year. Domestic market sales grew 24.08 per cent to 28,178 units from 22,710 units.
There was good news on the export front too for India Yamaha, with a 44.53 per cent jump in sales to 10,984 units during the month from 7,600 units a year ago.
Asked about the sluggish automobile market conditions, Mr Nakata said the company was much affected by it. “We have none or very less impact so far. We expect growth to be around 15 per cent in the industry”, he said.
Auto-analysts said increasing fuel prices and high interest rates prompt many buyers to go for two-wheelers than cars. However, there could be an impact in the high performance bikes in the above 150 CC category.
Mr Nakata, however, struck a positive note, saying sales for India Yamaha will be at the present level and the sales of premium segment growth would remain the same.
Mr Chandrashekar, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, Bajaj Auto, told PTI that the company expects to sell over four million units this fiscal.
“The impact in the passenger car business is because of various reasons, including interest rates and fuel prices. If a car owner feels the pinch, then two-wheelers always come as an option,” he said.
He reiterated that the two-wheeler industry was growing at 13-15 per cent year-on-year.
In November, Bajaj Auto registered a 25 per cent jump on motorcycle sales at 3,31,967 units. The company sold 2,65,036 units in the corresponding month last year.
Total sales in November stood at 3,74,477 units, up by 25 per cent, against 2,99,231 units sold in the same period the previous year.