Domestic sales of two-wheeler sales showed some improvement in April with three of the five manufacturers posting growth on a yearly basis on the back of the wedding season. However, analysts doubt whether this slight revival is sustainable as issues like high cost of ownership, which has impacted rural demand and sales of entry-level models, continue to plague the sector.
Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Company and Royal Enfield posted growth in sales during April while Bajaj Auto and Suzuki Motorcycle India saw their sales decline.
“With the economy gradually opening up and continued government policy support, April volumes indicate the continuously improving consumer sentiments,” Hero MotoCorp said in a statement. The company’s despatches to dealers improved 16.3% year-on-year to 398,490 units in April.
TVS said a shortage of semiconductors has impacted the production and sale of its premium two-wheelers. While the company is working with alternative sources to improve supplies, it said that its volumes will revive once the semiconductor situation gets better. The company’s two-wheeler volumes increased 37.4% y-o-y to 180,533 units in April.
Despite challenges on the supply-side, Royal Enfield’s two-wheeler volumes in the domestic market jumped 10.4% y-o-y to 53,852 units in April.
Bajaj Auto’s despatches slipped 26.3% y-o-y to 93,233 units, while Suzuki reported a decline of 14.9% y-o-y to 54,327 units.
“The decline in April is entirely supply-chain led. We have had surprises in our supply-chain on the semiconductor side and we have embarked on a slew of countermeasures, which have started to make a difference from April,” Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto, told CNBC-TV18 news channel, adding that May onwards, the company will be able to increase supplies of semiconductor-based components at a much higher rate and probably resolve them completely in the second quarter.
