Two-wheeler sales fall in November; passenger vehicle sales flat

NEW DELHI:  Two-wheeler (2W) sales witnessed a sharp decline in November 2022 when compared with the sales in the festive month of October 2022, indicating that the sector is yet to recover from the prolonged slowdown. 

Top 2W maker Hero MotoCorp’s total dispatches in November stood at 379,839 units in the domestic market, a sharp fall from 442,825 units dispatched in October 2022. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) also reported a steep fall in monthly sales; dispatches fell from 488,924 units in October to 353,540 units in November. 

For Bajaj Auto, domestic 2W sales came down to just 123,490 units in November 2022 from 206,131 units in October 2022. TVS Motor’s domestic 2W sales stood at 191,730 units in November 2022 as against 275,934 units in October 2022.

Hit by distress in the rural economy and rising ownership costs, two-wheeler sales, barring a few months, have been under tremendous pressure for about 4 years now.  According to industry experts, the situation remains dynamic and there is no clarity on when the demand would breach the pre-covid level.  Even the fast-growing electric 2W sales faced a slowdown in November 2022. E-2W sales stood at 76,162 units last month compared to 76,952 units in October, as per the VAHAN portal. Passenger vehicle (PV) sales, on the back of high demand for SUVs and long waiting periods, remained stable last month. While India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported a dip in sales month-on-month, Hyundai and Tata Motors managed to retain their growth. 

MSIL’s domestic PV sales stood at 132,395 units in November as against 140,337 units sold in October. While Hyundai’s sales remained flat at 48,003 units, Tata Motor’s month-on-month sales grew a little to 46, 037 units last month from 45,423 units in October. SUV Major Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) domestic PV sales came down to 30,392 units last month as against 32,298 units in October.