HONDA OVERTAKE HERO

HMSI record high growth in 125-150 cc segment

HERO MOTOCORP MAY STILL be the leader when it comes to entry-level motorcycles, but Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India have overtaken their former partners in the 125-150 cc segment.

According to recent SIAM data, HMSI sales in the 125-150 cc segment have gone up by 76 per cent between April and October 2012, whereas Hero MotoCorp’s sales have declined by 53 per cent.

HMSI reportedly sold about 1.34 lakh units during this period while Hero were able to sell 80,000 units. But the most surprising fact is that Hero were unable to boost their sales despite launching two new products, the Impulse and the Ignitor, along with making minor changes to their existing products like the Hunk and X-Treme. In the recent past, the company has also spent a lot of money on promoting these products.

HMSI, on the other hand, have not launched a new product, barring the CBR 150R, in the 125-150 cc category. However, the major contributor to HMSI’s huge sales figure is the CB Unicorn, which, despite being an old model, recorded a sales of 1.22 lakh units in the current financial year. Honda claim that the new production facility has enabled them to fulfil the growing demand for these bikes and that they intend to overtake the market leader, Bajaj, in the 125-150 cc category by coming up with more dealerships and new production facilities in the future.