The Sales War: The Closest Honda Has Ever Got To Hero

Honda fell short of Hero MotoCorp by a mere 85 units in August 2022

Hero MotoCorp on Thursday reported a 1.92 percent increase in year-on-year sales at 4,62,608 units in August 2022, while Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India registered a growth of 7 percent during the same period by retailing 4,62,523 units.

A tiny deficit of just 85 units implies that this is the closest Honda has come to Hero in terms of overall sales to date. Honda’s rise is accentuated by the fact that the scooter market is growing in terms of volume, as the Honda Activa has outsold the Hero Splendor a couple of times in the past.

However, in the domestic market the gap between these two giants widened, as Hero sold 4,50,740 two-wheelers in August 2022 while Honda sold 4,23,216 motorcycles & scooters in the same month. Helping Hero achieve this number are affordable offerings like the Splendor, Passion Pro, Glamour, Destini 125 and XPulse 200 4V. However, Honda’s sales are primarily dependent on the Activa, Shine, SP125 and Dio. With Honda reportedly planning to launch a direct competitor to the Hero Splendor, the battle to rule the sales chart is only set to intensify in the coming months.

While Honda has recently released multiple editions of its popular offerings like the Activa Premium, Dio Sports and Shine Celebration, Hero is currently testing out interesting platforms to appeal to the masses, such as the XPulse 400 and Xtreme 400S. Given Hero’s strong point nailing the affordability factor, expect these products to boost Hero’s sales, both in domestic and export markets.