INTRODUCTION:

The Indian two wheeler market has a size of over Rs 100,000 million.

The Indian two wheeler segment contributes the largest volumes amongst all the segments in automobile industry. Though the segment can be broadly categorized into 3 sub-segments viz; scooters, motorcycles and mopeds; some categories introduced in the market are a combination of two or more segments e.g. scooterettes and step thru’s. The market primarily comprises five players in the two wheeler segment with most of the companies having foreign collaborations with well-known Japanese firms earlier. But most of the companies are now planning 100% subsidiaries in India.

In the last four to five years, the two-wheeler market has witnessed a marked shift towards motorcycles at the expense of scooters. In the rural areas, consumers have come to prefer sturdier bikes to withstand the bad road conditions. In the process the share of motorcycle segment has grown from 48% to 58%, the share of scooters declined drastically from 33% to 25%, while that of mopeds declined by 2% from 19% to 17% during the year 2000-01. The Euro emission norms led the existing players in the two stroke segment to install catalytic converters. All the new models are now being replaced by 4-stroke motorcycles. Excise duty on motorcycles has been reduced resulting in price reduction, which has aided in propelling the demand for motorcycles. Fierce competition has also forced players to cut prices in certain models.

CURRENT SCENARIO:

Motorcycle sales grew by an annual average of 27% over f 1995-2002, and constituted nearly 66% of total two wheeler sales in F2002, up from just 24% in F1995. Average monthly motorcycle sales have increased five-fold since F1995 to almost 250,000 units in F2002. The current share of the leading three companies is shown in the pie chart. And this clearly shows that hero Honda is the current market leader with a 49% market share. Hero Honda has been an early entrant in the 4 stroke segment of the two wheeler industry. With a right mix of product styling and pricing the company helped garner a larger market chunk of the 4-stroke market as compared to Bajaj Auto. A shifting consumer preference towards motorcycles also enabled the fast growth of the company in the last few years. Hero Honda motorcycle sales jumped 40.6% in April at 135,961 units from 96,672 units it sold in the corresponding month last year. The change in product mix in favor of higher value products has resulted in improved realization for the company the growing popularity of the passion model appears to be the key factor behind improvement in unit realization. Taking into account the recent trend in performance, the company appears well positioned to retain its top position in the motorcycle market and also sustain the recent rate of growth. Bajaj auto ltd is the second biggest manufacturer of motorcycles. The companies recent indigenous launch in 4-stroke segment viz; the 150 / 180 cc pulsar which has practically snatched the market share of the bikes like Hero Honda CBZ, Suzuki Fiero, Lml adreno etc, and it appears that pulsar would rule this segment till the time there are some new launches in this segment by other manufacturers, for bajaj pulsar has been the major contributor for the rise in its motorcycle sales along with its other popular models such as boxer, caliber croma etc. well coming to the third largest share holder in the motorcycle segment which is the tvs motors, which has emerged as a ‘victor’ after the Suzuki break up, riding high on the success, of it’s motorbike by the same name. Tvs victor is the first indigenously produced motorcycle from tvs motors. Infact with a six week waiting period, even six months after its launch, tvs motors plans to double its production capacity.

The motorcycle market can be further segmented on the basis of the price tags which are the economy, executive and the premium segments. Basically all the three leading companies have a presence in all of these sectors. Clearly, the race to the number one spot in the motorcycle segment has been a one sided one. But times are changing, Given the fact that bajaj is positioning itself at all feature and price points, it does have every model to satisfy the needs of a prospective motorcycle buyer, and also has the privilege of being the only one in the cruiser segment but except for the two bikes i.e boxer ct and pulsar no other Bajaj models seem to be on the line of prosperity and the recently launched dawn by Hero Honda is a direct threat to the market of boxer ct price competitively at rs 37,000/- which is just rs 2,000/- more than the boxer ct but then again boxer ct already enjoys a vast market share and is very popular especially in the rural areas it will be a tough job for dawn to displace this bike from its current position a lot remains to be seen by the feedback that it receives from riders. The pulsar has taken the market by storm in the premium segment it has clearly displaced the CBZ and the other models of this segment and looks like the things will remain this way for some time but there are tough times ahead since Hero Honda plans to launch a new bike in this segment by the end of this year which means that there is a lot to look ahead from a consumers point of view.

CURRENT POSITIONING:

ECONOMY BOXER AT & CT AND CALIBER. DAWN, CD100, CD100SS, JOY. MAX 100, MAX 100 R

EXECUTIVE CALIBER CROMA, PULSAR 150. SPLENDOR, PASSION. SAMURAI, VICTOR

PREMIUM PULSAR 180.

CBZ. FIERO

BAJAJ HERO HONDA TVS

Let us first identify the current market leaders in each category. In the economy segment Bajaj is the leader with 46% of the market share with boxer being the largest selling bike in this segment. In the executive segment Hero Honda is the clear leader with 67% market share with splendor and passion leading the market in this segment and will continue to do so in the near future well now we come to the most controversial segment which is the premium segment since the current market leader according to the sales of the past few months is CBZ but then pulsar has arrived and the consumer choice clearly shows that this place will be reserved for pulsar for some time as a counter attack hero Honda too would be launching a bike in this segment but it is too early to comment on that.

KEY FACTORS AFFECTING THE SALES OF MOTORCYCLES.

Government policy impact on petrol prices : petrol prices determine the running cost of two wheelers expressed in rupees per kilometer. Petrol prices are the highest in India as GOI subsidizes kerosene and diesel. But with the change in the GOI policy to reduce the subsidy, the prices of petrol will remain constant at the current prices. Which will have a positive effect on two wheelers market. This trend would actually affect positively the whole automotive industry.

Improvement in disposable income: With the increase in salary levels due to entry of multinationals following liberalization process the disposable income has improved exponentially over the years. This will have a multiplier effect on demand for consumer durables including two wheelers. This is already witnessed in improved demand two wheelers.

Implementation of mass transport system: many states have planned to implement mass transport systems in state capitals in the future. This will have a negative impact on demand for two wheelers in the long run. But taking into account the delays involved in the implementation of such large infrastructure projects, we expect the demand to be affected only five to seven years down the line.

Availability of credit for vehicle purchase: The availability and cost of finance affects the demand for two wheelers as the trend for increased credit purchases for consumer durables have increased over the past few years.

Well to sum it up on the whole there are great times ahead for the bike lovers in India. With the decision of companies like Honda to set up base in India, the consumers will have a wide range of choice and also the freedom to choose something more exciting than the usual.