For the two-wheeler industry, where sales of most of the companies have come to be increasingly influenced by the demand from the rural markets and small towns, a lot with regard to its growth this year would depend on how the monsoon fares.
A good monsoon is key to boost consumer sentiment, which is an important factor for the industry. Apart from monsoon, the industry relies heavily on the festive season to push its sales, according to K. Srinivas, President (Motorcycle Business), of Bajaj Auto.
Stating that around 50 per cent of the Bajaj motorcycles sales came from rural markets and small towns, he said a lot in terms of how the annual sales would be could be assessed by taking into account the monsoon. It was, however, too early, he added, to worry about progress of the monsoon this year. Mr. Srinivas said this in an interaction with presspersons at the launch of ‘Discover 125 ST’ Bajaj motorcycle in Tamil Nadu here on Thursday.
With the new bike, the company expected to further strengthen its position in the 125cc segment, where the growth last year was “a whopping 38 per cent”. The year before, the growth in the segment was 20 per cent. “Manufacturers are realising that this is a fast growing segment,” he said, pointing out that with ‘Discover 125 ST’, the company was making a statement that mileage need not come with boring design and outdated features. The ex-showroom price of the bike, whose mileage would be 65 km to a litre, in Tamil Nadu is Rs.55,740.
Chandrasekar R. General Manager (Marketing & Sales), said the sporty evolution of the commuter category in motorcycles would occur fast.
