Honda Set To Upstage Hero MotoCorp From Top Spot

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) announced its April 2017 sales figure yesterday and it did cause quite a stir in the Indian two-wheeler space. The Japanese two-wheeler giant sold 578,929 units last month, which is a massive 33 per cent growth in comparison to its sales in April 2016. It was the first occasion that Honda has crossed sales of over 5.5 lakh units in India. What will really please Honda is the fact that it has narrowed down the sales gap between Hero MotoCorp and itself to just 33,810 units. Also Read - Honda Activa Sales Cross 1.5 Crore

While Honda has registered sales growth of 33 per cent, Hero struggled as its sales declined by 3.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Honda’s stellar sales performance comes close on the heels of our interaction with Minoru Kato who was recently appointed as president and chief executive officer for HMSI. Kato has set himself a target of breaching 6 million sales mark for Honda in 2017 and the April sales performance would have really pleased him. The Japanese two-wheeler giant is also working tirelessly to increase its production capacity which will reach 6 million units per month production by June 2017. 

Not surprisingly, automatic scooters were the biggest contributor to the impressive sales performance with the Honda Activa playing a vital role. Automatic scooter sales for Honda stood at an incredible 368,618 units and it was the first occasion in the manufacturer’s history that scooter sales crossed the 3.5 lakh mark. Another interesting aspect of the sales report is that motorcycles sales have grown 22 per cent to 183,266 units. Motorcycle sales have not been good for Honda in the recent past, especially its commuter line of Dream motorcycles, but Kato said that they are planning to expand the bikes’ reach in rural areas and increase sales. 

So will Honda finally be able to overtake Hero MotoCorp with respect to sales in 2017? Well that’s something that only time will answer, but given the pace at which Honda is growing, officials at Hero wouldn’t be feeling too comfortable. Having said that, the BS-III stock clearance could have played a big role in the jump of sales for Honda and we will have to analyse the May 2017 sales report of Honda and Hero MotoCorp to get a better understanding. Also, Hero is gearing up to launch new motorcycles in the commuter segment, starting with the new Hero Glamour, which will play a key role for it to regain its dominance. 

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Honda, on the other hand, has planned four new offerings including two scooters which should help it in closing down on Hero MotoCorp. India is already the biggest market for the Japanese two-wheeler giant globally and given its hike in production and the massive demands for scooters it is surely on its way to displace its erstwhile partner from the top. Or, is there a twist in this tale? We will be closely following this battle royale.