TVS motor sells more scooters than Hero in Q1

NEW DELHI: TVS Motor surpas sed Hero Moto-Corp in scooter sales in the fiscal first quarter, growing at more than 35 per cent when the segment volume at the two-wheeler market leader fell marginally.

The local two-wheeler unit of Honda Motor still perched atop the scooter market with a lead that was nearly three times TVS Motor’s sales in the April-June period.

Chennai-based TVS Motor sold 2,49,077 units in the past quarter to become the second largest scooter seller in the Indian market, showed data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Hero MotoCorp sold 2,09,790 units to come next, while Honda Motorcycle & Scooter topped the list with volume of 9,73,725 scooters. Among major manufactures, only Suzuki Motorcycles grew faster — at over 58 per cent year-on-year to 89,323 units — but on a smaller base.

At Honda, sales expanded more than 25 per cent. “To keep the growth momentum going, we have exciting plans lined up in the scooter segment,” Aniruddha Haldar, TVS Motor’s vice president for marketing (scooters), said, citing the new colours the company launched and its plan to introduce an all-new scooter this fiscal year.

Hero MotoCorp didn’t respond until press time on Monday to an email seeking comment on the fall in its scooter volume. Mahindra Two Wheelers was the only other company that posted a drop in scooter sales in the first three months of fiscal 2018.

TVS Motor Company