New Generation Gearless Scooters

Scooter manufacturers, especially those who have introduced new-generation gearless scooters, are enjoying the fruits of their labour, as sales have continued in top gear in December.used autos in India

Surprisingly, December sales have made current market leader Honda Motorcycle & Scooter and Bajaj Auto, the erstwhile leader in the scooter segment, mere spectators, as other manufacturers enjoyed bumper sales, that too in the last month of 2010. Auto sales in December are often lower compared with previous months.

In December, TVS Motor and Hero Honda Motors witnessed sales growth of over 100%, while sales for current market leader Honda grew by just 9%. Others, like Mahindra Two Wheelers and Suzuki Motorcycle India saw their scooter sales increase by 72% and 71%, respectively. However, looking at these bumper sales figures, one cannot but help feel bad for Hamara Bajaj, which last year decided to exit the scooter market.

Honda remained the market leader with sales of 76,307 units, taking its nine-month sales (April to December 2010) to 6,65,051 units from 5,22,399 units in the previous corresponding period. However, despite finding favour with customers, the company is still finding it difficult to deliver scooters in time. According to sources, Honda Activa has a waiting period of six to eight months.Tata Showrooms in India

This waiting period for an Activa is proving to be beneficial for others like Hero Honda and TVS Motors. Especially TVS, which has seen demand soar for its newly-launched Wego scooter, on easy availability and a loyal customer base built around its Scooty brand. Hero Honda, on the other hand, has benefitted from its brand image and large dealer network. Increased demand and non-availability of Activa may have played an important role in people trying out the models of other manufacturers.electric bikes in India

While, TVS's Wego, Mahindra's Rodeo and Duro and Suzuki's Access do have features similar to Activa, people did not think much about these products previously. But since the delivery time for an Activa has increased, those not prepared to wait long are turning to other models, and this is propelling sales of Wego, Access, Rodeo and Duro.

During the nine months do December, scooter sales rose 49.2% to 14,92,342 units, while motorcycle sales increased 24.6% to 66,54,280 units. This makes one wonder about the decision by Bajaj to 'sacrifice' scooters to push its motorcycle business.

One of the problems has been that while all scooter makers launched products based on fresh R&D and improved features (such as auto gears), performance and mileage, Bajaj did not make much of an effort on this front. The company continued with its iconic (now defunct) geared scooters.maruti second hand

In effect, Bajaj's scooter segment appears to have died an unnatural and untimely death, mainly due to the lack of support from the family. Last heard, managing director Rajiv Bajaj has said that the company would drop the name 'Bajaj' from its products, showrooms and service centres and re-brand them as 'Pulsar' or 'Discover', after the names of two of the company's best-selling motorcycle variants.