Scooters And One Wheels

Honda is ready for school launch to revive the scooter phase

Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) is waiting for colleges and universities to reopen to revitalize the automatic scooter segment.

While the two-wheeler revival has been spearheaded by the rural economy, especially entry-level motorcycles, it has come at the expense of automatic scooters.

“When the go-live began in May 2020, the urban economy was hit hard, but rural Covid cases were low and the economy was active. There was also a good monsoons and a good harvest. Across the two-wheeler market, the maximum consumption was entry-level motorcycles, which grew at the expense of automatic scooters with a largely urban market, ”Yadvinder Singh Guleria, sales and marketing director of HMSI, told The Telegraph of the launch of another model from the CB brand, namely of the CB 350RS.

However, Guleria added that in recent months there has been a return in demand in urban areas.

“As people avoid public transport and personal mobility increases, we can revive the demand for two-wheelers,” said Guleria.

Honda, which has a market share of over 50 percent in scooters, is waiting for the education sector to open up with physical classes in order to revive the demand for scooters, an essentially urban vehicle.

“There is a lot of demand for 125cc scooters after ABS (anti-lock braking) regulation became mandatory for 150cc and higher scooters, making them more expensive,” said Guleria.

Depending on the regions where scooter sales are strong, HMSI is experiencing a pickup in demand. “The western region has recovered very well, the southern market was positive. But sales in Uttar Pradesh were sluggish, as was the case in Rajasthan. Gujarat has not recovered but Punjab has done well, “said Guleria, handing in a region recovery card even after news of new lockdowns came in from Maharashtra.

While the company waits for the urban economy to be in full swing, it continues its foray into the mid-range motorcycle class, which used to be the most promising segment. While the segment has been in decline for three to four years, the company believes it remains a promising market.

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