Honda Predicts Double-Digit Negative Growth For Industry

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is still struggling with negative wholesale numbers, although the festive season has been cause for cheer in retail sales. Speaking about the two-wheeler industry after a prolonged slowdown in the Indian auto industry, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President - Sales and Marketing, HMSI, told Carandbike that the slowdown is likely to continue, and despatches from the factories (wholesale numbers) are not expected to pick up anytime soon, even in the next 3-4 months. The short-term market outlook still looks bleak, but the long-term fundamentals are in place, the HMSI official said.

"We're still cautious on the demand. Festival has been an exception mainly on the retail sales. It helped most of the manufacturers to correct their inventories to bring it to controllable levels. So, I don't think anyone would like to make the mistake of again build up the inventories, especially once you have the transition from BS-IV to BS-VI. As such, the production activity is going to get activated and you'll start seeing the numbers in the wholesale, I don't think that is going to happen, especially the BS-VI ramp up is also going to happen. So, you cannot have the similar kind of efficiency for the production line when a new model starts on the production line. Combining all these factors, it looks like we still will continue to have a negative growth, and even at the end of financial year the industry will have a double-digit negative result," said Guleria.

i688drms

The Honda SP 125 is the company's first BS6-compliant motorcycle

Guleria was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the company's first BS6-compliant motorcycle, the new Honda SP 125. Two months ago, HMSI had launched the company's first BS6-compliant two-wheeler, the new Honda Activa 125, which has already received good response from the market. The Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission regulations will come into effect from April 1, 2020, and all auto manufacturers will need to make their products compliant with the new regulations. HMSI has already started rolling out BS6-compliant models, but across the board, all two-wheelers are expected to see a price increase of between 10-16 per cent over the BS-IV models.

However, with increased prices in the middle of a slowdown in the industry, demand is likely to remain lacklustre, even for most part of the next financial year. In the short term, the slowdown is likely to continue with volumes not gathering steam like the way it has for the past couple of years. And although the festive season did see some spurt in retail sales, growth is unlikely to pick up, even in the 2019-20 financial year, more so with all two-wheelers becoming more expensive in the BS-VI era.

"It may take some time for the new price point in the market to settle down. Once all the products are there in the market by 1st of April, customers will come to know the average price, what is the increase in price in terms of percentage. However, the current market situation and overall economic condition is such that any increase in the price is not so welcome. There's the NBFC crisis, the GDP is not growing, there have been some reports of unemployment being on the higher side compared to last couple of years; that is also evident in the industry numbers. It's the eleventh consecutive month where the industry has seen a slowdown in the market. In the short term, it looks like the slowdown will continue. Post-festival, it's difficult to have sustainable volumes that you got during the festive season. But overall, the long term demand attributes will sustain very strong for the acceptability of two-wheelers for the daily commuting needs in the market," added Guleria.

bnmh5lkc

(The Activa 125 Std is priced at Rs. 67,490, the alloy variant is priced at Rs. 70,990 while the top-spec Dlx variant is priced at Rs. 74,490)

Honda's retail sales posted double digit growth in the festive season this year, and this helped bring down the inventory levels, which will help Honda's transition to BS6 models become smoother in the next 3-4 months. With the auto industry already in the grip of an unprecedented slowdown, and an expected price increase on BS6 models from the next financial year, the slowdown is likely to be sustained for some time, although long term prospects of the Indian two-wheeler industry are still strong, he added.



from CarandBike - Latest News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harley-Davidson Streetfighter Spotted In Flesh For The First Time

Image
Harley-Davidson unveiled a range of new motorcycles last year that included an adventure tourer, streetfighter and Custom range. This, along with the LiveWire electric motorcycle defines the new-age 21st century offerings from the manufacturer as it taps into newer markets and caters to an evolving customer base. Now, giving a glimpse of the new models out in the open, the new Harley-Davidson Streetfighter was spotted in the prototype version at what seems to be a trade show in the US, giving a good glimpse at motorcycle looks like in flesh. While board says 'Styling Prototype', the production-spec version of the Streetfighter is likely to stay identical to the model showcased here. In addition to the Streetfighter, the Pan America was also showcased at the same event. The production spec versions of both bikes could be unveiled at EICMA this year. Also Read: Harley-Davidson Livewire To Be Unveiled In India In August The Harley-Davidson Streetfighter is a completely new mot
Read more

Zongshen Cyclone RX6 Based On Norton 650 Nearing Completion

Image
While there still doesn't seem to be a buyer for iconic British brand Norton Motorcycles which went into administration in January this year, the firm's 650 cc parallel-twin seems to be finding life in China. While Norton apparently sold off the engine rights of its 961 engine to China's Jinglang just before the brand went into administration, the deal for the 650 cc engine was finalized way back in 2017 with Chinese giant Zongshen. The 650 cc parallel-twin engine was due to be used in Norton's Atlas and Superlight models, but now it looks like that engine platform will make its debut in a Zongshen motorcycle, called the Cyclone R6. Also Read: How Much Is Norton Motorcycles Worth Now? One of the patent designs shows the Cyclone RX6 with full touring accessories and luggage Two prototypes fitted with the 650 cc parallel-twin engine were shown in China late last year, on the Zongshen Cyclone RX6 adventure bike and the RX6 sport tourer. Both bikes used Zongshen-made
Read more

Brixton 1200 To Rival Triumph Bonneville T120

Image
A 1200 cc modern classic with similar design lines as Triumph's iconic Bonneville series, has reportedly been cleared for production. The bike was showcased as a concept at last year's EICMA motorcycle show, and from the looks of it, this is a model developed in China with the Triumph Bonneville T120 in its sights. The Brixton brand though is part of Austria's KSR Group, which imports bikes from several Chinese manufacturers, including CF Moto. And while the new Bonneville rival will be manufactured in China, the design and engineering has been created at KSR's design centre in Krups, Austria. Also Read: Triumph Bonnville T120 First Ride Review The Brixton 1200 cc motorcycle has not been named yet, or a launch timeline announced So far, the company has not committed to a launch date yet, but says that it will eventually make it to production. And from the looks of it, that may well be sometime later this year, maybe even at the EICMA 2020 show in Milan, Italy, in
Read more