COVID-19 Effect: Zero Bike Sales In India In April!

Domestic sales are nil but Bajaj’s healthy exports are keeping it afloat

India spent the entirety of April under complete lockdown, meaning that auto factories and dealerships across the country remained closed. Predictably, domestic sales were nil, but certain manufacturers have used exports to keep themselves afloat in these trying times.

One Indian manufacturer that places a large emphasis on exports is Bajaj. The ‘world’s favourite Indian’ managed to export a respectable 32,009 two-wheelers in the month of April. Quite a stellar effort, even if it does pale in comparison to the 1,60,393 units it managed to export in April last year. Nevertheless, the contribution from these exports seems to have paid off, with Bajaj declaring that it won’t be cutting pay for any of its workers (a move which the company was previously considering).

Next up on the list is another Indian manufacturer, TVS, which also managed to ship out a commendable 8,134 two-wheelers over the course of April. Of course, with its factory having been shut for the entire month, all the exported units were bikes manufactured in March, and domestic sales are zero.

Though not quite as large an exporter as some of the native Indian manufacturers, Honda does ship out various models from India, primarily destined for other developing nations. The Japanese brand exported 2,630 units in the month of April. Royal Enfield, meanwhile, registered sales of just 91 units last month as a result of the lockdown.

With restrictions being gradually eased over the course of May, we should hopefully see domestic sales kick off once more. Though things will obviously get off to a slow start, the consensus is that demand for personal vehicles could quite likely go up once this COVID-19 episode is behind us.