Honda Beats Hero’s Scooter Exports In 2015-16

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) overtook Hero MotoCorp to become India’s largest scooter exporter in the previous financial year. In FY 2015-16, Honda exported 103,242 scooters. This marks a rise of 32.68% over its exports in 2014-15, where 77,814 units were shipped out. That same year, Hero recorded the highest number of scooter exports in the country i.e. 79,956 units, with many of the sales attributed to a large order from Sri Lanka.

HMSI reported overall sales of 44.83 lakh units in FY 2015-16, and even crossed the milestone of 2 lakh exports for the first time in its history in the same time frame. The company exports its made in India products to around 20 markets including Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Hero, on the other hand, expanded its reach to around 30 export markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America, but saw a marginal (3.04%) drop in exports when compared to its performance in the previous fiscal, making it the only scooter manufacturer in India to see a decline. This can be linked with the brand’s focus on raising its domestic market share and ramping up production. Hero also opened a new R&D centre in Jaipur, with an investment of Rs 850 crore.

TVS managed to more than double its scooter exports in FY 2015-16, going up from 16,543 to 37,722 units, while Yamaha managed to more than triple its off-shore dispatches from 6,271 units in 2014-15 to 22,263 in 2015-16! 

Scooter sales in India have been rapidly growing as buyers like the practicality and ease of use they offer but the export numbers show that it’s a phenomenon not limited to our borders.

Source: Autocar Pro