October͏͏ was͏͏ a͏͏ booming͏͏ month͏͏ for͏͏ two-wheeler͏͏ sales͏͏ in͏͏ India,͏͏ thanks͏͏ to͏͏ the͏͏ festive͏͏ season.͏͏ Major͏͏ manufacturers͏͏ like͏͏ TVS͏͏ Motor͏͏ Company,͏͏ Hero͏͏ MotoCorp,͏͏ and͏͏ Royal͏͏ Enfield͏͏ saw͏͏ their͏͏ sales͏͏ numbers͏͏ climb͏͏ significantly,͏͏ while͏͏ Bajaj͏͏ Auto͏͏ experienced͏͏ a͏͏ downturn͏͏ despite͏͏ the͏͏ overall͏͏ festive͏͏ boost.
The͏͏ festival͏͏ season͏͏ always͏͏ brings͏͏ a͏͏ surge͏͏ in͏͏ consumer͏͏ spending,͏͏ and͏͏ this͏͏ year͏͏ was͏͏ no͏͏ different͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ two-wheeler͏͏ market.͏͏ TVS͏͏ Motor͏͏ Company͏͏ led͏͏ the͏͏ charge͏͏ with͏͏ a͏͏ 13%͏͏ year-on-year͏͏ (YoY)͏͏ increase͏͏ in͏͏ domestic͏͏ sales.͏͏ The͏͏ Chennai-based͏͏ company͏͏ sold͏͏ 390,489͏͏ units͏͏ in͏͏ October͏͏ compared͏͏ to͏͏ 344,957͏͏ units͏͏ last͏͏ year.
“We͏͏ saw͏͏ a͏͏ strong͏͏ response͏͏ from͏͏ our͏͏ customers͏͏ this͏͏ festive͏͏ season.͏͏ The͏͏ demand͏͏ for͏͏ both͏͏ traditional͏͏ and͏͏ electric͏͏ two-wheelers͏͏ was͏͏ impressive,”͏͏ said͏͏ a͏͏ spokesperson͏͏ from͏͏ TVS͏͏ Motor.
Hero͏͏ MotoCorp͏͏ Shines͏͏ Bright
Hero͏͏ MotoCorp,͏͏ the͏͏ world’s͏͏ largest͏͏ two-wheeler͏͏ manufacturer,͏͏ also͏͏ had͏͏ an͏͏ outstanding͏͏ month͏͏ with͏͏ a͏͏ 17.4%͏͏ YoY͏͏ increase͏͏ in͏͏ sales.͏͏ The͏͏ company͏͏ sold͏͏ 657,403͏͏ units͏͏ in͏͏ October,͏͏ bolstered͏͏ by͏͏ its͏͏ ‘Grand͏͏ Indian͏͏ Festival͏͏ of͏͏ Trust’͏͏ campaign.͏͏ This͏͏ campaign͏͏ helped͏͏ Hero͏͏ tap͏͏ into͏͏ the͏͏ high͏͏ demand͏͏ for͏͏ 100cc͏͏ and͏͏ 125cc͏͏ motorcycles͏͏ in͏͏ both͏͏ urban͏͏ and͏͏ rural͏͏ areas.
Hero’s͏͏ success͏͏ was͏͏ further͏͏ highlighted͏͏ by͏͏ their͏͏ highest-ever͏͏ Dhanteras͏͏ sales,͏͏ a͏͏ key͏͏ festival͏͏ period͏͏ that͏͏ significantly͏͏ boosts͏͏ sales͏͏ figures.
Royal͏͏ Enfield’s͏͏ Record͏͏ Month
Royal͏͏ Enfield͏͏ wasn’t͏͏ far͏͏ behind,͏͏ recording͏͏ a͏͏ 26%͏͏ growth͏͏ in͏͏ domestic͏͏ sales.͏͏ The͏͏ company͏͏ sold͏͏ 101,886͏͏ motorcycles͏͏ in͏͏ October͏͏ 2024,͏͏ up͏͏ from͏͏ 80,958͏͏ units͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ same͏͏ month͏͏ last͏͏ year.͏͏ This͏͏ marks͏͏ Royal͏͏ Enfield’s͏͏ highest-ever͏͏ monthly͏͏ sales,͏͏ driven͏͏ by͏͏ strong͏͏ demand͏͏ for͏͏ both͏͏ their͏͏ Classic͏͏ models͏͏ and͏͏ new͏͏ releases͏͏ during͏͏ the͏͏ festive͏͏ season.
Bajaj͏͏ Auto͏͏ Faces͏͏ a͏͏ Slump
However,͏͏ not͏͏ all͏͏ manufacturers͏͏ shared͏͏ the͏͏ same͏͏ success͏͏ story.͏͏ Bajaj͏͏ Auto͏͏ saw͏͏ an͏͏ 8%͏͏ decline͏͏ in͏͏ domestic͏͏ two-wheeler͏͏ sales,͏͏ with͏͏ 255,909͏͏ units͏͏ sold͏͏ in͏͏ October͏͏ 2024͏͏ compared͏͏ to͏͏ 278,046͏͏ units͏͏ last͏͏ year.͏͏ The͏͏ drop͏͏ in͏͏ sales͏͏ was͏͏ attributed͏͏ to͏͏ weaker-than-expected͏͏ demand͏͏ during͏͏ Dussehra,͏͏ delayed͏͏ monsoon,͏͏ and͏͏ ongoing͏͏ elections.
“While͏͏ factors͏͏ like͏͏ delayed͏͏ monsoon͏͏ and͏͏ elections͏͏ may͏͏ have͏͏ played͏͏ a͏͏ role,͏͏ it’s͏͏ difficult͏͏ to͏͏ pinpoint͏͏ the͏͏ exact͏͏ reason.͏͏ Demand͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ southern͏͏ and͏͏ eastern͏͏ regions͏͏ has͏͏ been͏͏ muted,͏͏ while͏͏ the͏͏ central͏͏ and͏͏ northern͏͏ areas͏͏ have͏͏ shown͏͏ some͏͏ resilience,”͏͏ said͏͏ Rakesh͏͏ Sharma,͏͏ Executive͏͏ Director͏͏ at͏͏ Bajaj͏͏ Auto,͏͏ during͏͏ their͏͏ Q2FY25͏͏ earnings͏͏ report.
| Company | Units Sold (October 2024) | YoY Growth |
| TVS Motor | 390,489 | 13% |
| Hero MotoCorp | 657,403 | 17.40% |
| Royal Enfield | 101,886 | 26% |
| Bajaj Auto | 255,909 | -8% |
Export Success Amid Domestic Challenges
Despite the mixed domestic performance, Indian two-wheeler manufacturers saw encouraging growth in exports. TVS Motor recorded a 16% increase in exports, reaching 87,670 units. Hero MotoCorp enjoyed a substantial 43% YoY rise, with their models gaining traction in global markets.
Bajaj Auto also posted a 24% growth in exports, selling 158,463 units. Royal Enfield stood out with a whopping 150% surge in exports, driven by their expanding brand presence in South Asia and Latin America.