The first month of demonetisation was a mixed bag for two-wheeler manufacturers in India, with some witnessing a fall in volume sales while others bucked the trend. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp took a hit, TVS Motor sales remained almost flat while Royal Enfield and Yamaha maintained their growth momentum.
Hero Motocorp
The company sold 4,79,856 units in November 2016, down 12.8 percent from 5,50,731 in November 2015; on a sequential basis also, the performance has been hit as Hero Motocorp sold 6,63,153 units in October 2016. It's a clear indication of demonetisation hitting volumes as a significant portion of two-wheeler purchases are made through cash.
Hero Motocorp shares were down 0.11 percent to Rs 3,175 apiece.
TVS Motor Co
The company sold 2,24,971 units in November 2016, a marginal decline from 2,25,401 units last November.
Domestic two-wheeler sales rose to 1,91,499 units from 1,90,490 units in November 2015 while the company's total exports (two and three-wheelers) fell to 32,829 units from 33,621 units last November.
"Due to the demonetization exercise, the Company witnessed a short-term impact on November sales," TVS Motor Co. said in a statement.
TVS Motor Co shares were down 2.16 percent to Rs 359.75 apiece on the BSE.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI)
Domestic sales fell marginally to 3,25,448 units last month from 3,26,466 units in November 2015. Exports rose 81 percent to 26,053 units from 14,391 vehicles in November 2015, the company said in a statement.
"Compared to festival buying in November last year, this year the industry was prepared for an organic correction in November. However, demonetization announcement took everyone with surprise. Two-wheeler sales dropped by 50% in the first 3-4 days of announcement," Y.S. Guleria, senior vice president – Sales and Marketing, HMSI, said in a statement.
Bajaj Auto
The Pune-based two-wheeler maker witnessed 13 percent fall in overall sales, including exports. Domestic sales dropped 10 percent to 1,54,523 units, while exports slumped 16 percent to 1,15,425 units, making for total sales of 2,69,948 units in November 2016 as against 3,09,673 units last November.
Bajaj Auto shares were trading at Rs 2,678 apiece, down 0.27 percent.
India Yamaha Motor
The company's domestic sales (including Nepal) grew 20 percent to 51,106 units in November 2016 from 42,719 units sold last November.
Royal Enfield
Eicher Motors Ltd., makers of Royal Enfield motorcycles, said overall sales rose 41 percent to 57,313 units in November this year from 40,769 motorcycles sold last November.
Shares of Eicher Motors were trading with gains of 3.15 percent at Rs 22,877 apiece on Friday at around 1.05 pm on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
