Splendor Overtakes Activa To Regain Its Throne

The Honda Activa, which was the largest selling two-wheeler from January to September 2016, has been overtaken by the Hero Splendor thanks to the festive demand in the month of October. The Splendor now reclaims its position as the most sold two-wheeler across the country. According to the data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), last month, Hero MotoCorp sold 254,813 units of the Splendor, which was around 4,000 more than the Honda Activa, which sold 250,681 units.

The Honda Activa, previously the best-selling two-wheeler in the country, has registered a 6 per cent growth against the Splendor's 8 per cent in the month of October 2016 as compared to October 2015.

Over the years, these two-wheelers have fought it out for the top spot by staying on top of their games. For instance, Hero, over the years has been introducing new variants of the Splendor such as the Splendor, Super Splendor, Splendor ISmart, Splendor ISmart 110, Splendor Pro, Splendor Pro Classic and Splendor+. On the other hand, the Activa has also kept up with the Splendor's pace by introducing new variants such as the Activa, Activa i, Activa 3g and the Activa 125. In fact, Honda even tried to strike a blow to the Splendor's market by introducing the Honda Livo. But, that could not topple the Splendor from its lofty perch.

In the light of current events, the sales of the Splendor and the Activa might witness an interesting twist due to the demonetisation. Speaking on the same aspect, Pawan Munjal, CEO, Hero MotoCorp said, “While there was a steep drop in footfalls at our dealerships in the first two days since demonetisation, we are seeing a steady improvement with footfalls ·having climbed to almost 85 per cent of the normal level. With the slew of measures being implemented by the government, we expect the situation to return to normal sooner than later.”

However, it will be interesting to note what effect demonetisation has on the sales of these two-wheelers. Especially because most of the Splendor's sales comes from rural areas, where people have taken a serious hit due to this decision of the government. On the other hand, the Honda Activa gets most of its sales from urban areas, where most of the buyers are tech-savvy and well versed with electronic modes of payments. We won't be surprised if the Activa regains its throne in the coming months.