Bajaj Auto market share dips,

Hero Honda does well

NEW DELHI, DEC. 24. Erosion in the fortunes of scooter manufacturer Bajaj Auto continues with its market share falling to an all time low of 50 per cent even as Hero Honda made rapid strides to inch closer to 50 per cent in the motorcycle segment during April-November 2000-01.

Together with its subsidiary Maharashtra Scooter - makers of Bajaj Chetak scooter - Bajaj Auto market share slid to 50 per cent during the first eight months of current financial year from 56.1 per cent share in the same period last fiscal.

According to latest figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Bajaj Auto sales slid 31 per cent to 2.46 lakh units in April-November 2000-01 while Maharashtra Scooters recorded a 24.8 per cent decline to 72,463 units.

With a 43 per cent rise in sales to 6.69 lakh units in the first eight months of this fiscal, Hero Honda, in motorcycles segment, notched a 48 per cent market share as compared to 43 per cent in April-November 1999-2000. Bajaj made some of its lost grounds in motorcyles posting a 47.7 per cent increase in sales to 3.73 lakh units during the period under review from 2.52 lakh units a year before.

Its market share rose to 26.6 per cent from 23.1 per cent in 1999-2000. Riding high on robust motorcycle sales which jumped by 28.2 per cent to 13.98 lakh units in April-November, two-wheeler sales recorded a moderate 6.4 per cent increase to 25.20 lakh units even as scooter sales slid 21 per cent to 6.35 lakh units.

LML posted a 35.8 per cent decline in its scooter sales to 1.26 lakh units from 1.98 lakh units sold a year ago. Its market share during the period also came down to 20 per cent from 24.39 per cent.

Defying industry trend, Kinetic Motors gained at the expense of Bajaj and LML, posting a 13.5 per cent increase in sales to 85,702 units from 75,464 units in April-November 1999-2000. It bettered its market share to 13.5 per cent from 9.3 per cent a year ago.

Making its debut in motorcycles segment, LML sold 6,119 units in the first eight months of the current fiscal while old warhorse Yamaha Motors saw 30.3 per cent decline in its sales to just over a lakh units from 1.44 lakh units in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its market share also came down to 7.2 per cent from 13.3 per cent.

In the third spot, TVS Suzuki improved its motorcycle sales to 2.35 lakh units but saw its market share decline to 16.8 per cent from 19.1 per cent a year ago. Mopeds sales rose marginally to 4.86 lakh units from 4.66 lakh units during the same period last year.

TVS Suzuki, with 53 per cent market share, led the bandwagon with sales of over 2.5 lakh units while Kinetic Engineering posting a marginal rise in sales to 1.01 lakh units in April- November to take the second spot with 20 per cent market share.

In the third place was Majestic Auto with 16.2 per cent market share, pushing Bajaj Auto to the fourth spot with just over 10 per cent market share of the mopeds market.

Bajaj Auto's scooter sales declined by 36.3 per cent to 28,225 units in November as against 44,347 units in the same month of the previous year.

Its subsidiary Maharashtra Scooters saw a 50 per cent decline in its sales to 5,184 units in the month. While Kinetic Motor bettered its sales to 10,085 units from 9,478 units sold last year, LML posted a 45 per cent decline in sales to 15,249 units in November as compared to 27,860 units in the same period last year.In motorcycles, market leader Hero Honda set the trend with a 51.7 per cent increase in sales to 97,270 units in November from 64,096 units sold the same month last year.

Market rival Bajaj Auto notched a 49 per cent increase in sales to 57,535 units as compared to 38,638 units sold in November 1999.

While TVS Suzuki improved its sales by 17 per cent to 31,837 units, Yamaha Motor Escorts saw a massive 57.5 per cent decline in sales to 9,481 units in November 2000.

Scooter sales in November fell 31.2 per cent to 71,269 units from 1.03 lakh units sold in the same month the previous year.

On the other hand, motorcycle sales rose by 30 per cent to over two lakh units from 1.54 lakh units sold in November 1999.

- PTI

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