Scooter is back, with new hero on road

NEW DELHI: There’s a new ‘hero’ on two wheels, and for the first time in nearly two decades it’s not a Hero. Splendor — India and Hero MotoCorp’s bestselling motorcycle for the past 17 years — finally seems to have been trumped by its cousin, Activa, from the stable of Honda, Hero’s erstwhile partner.
Beyond model-wise market shares, the change marks, cautiously, the return of the scooter .From a high in the early 90s, when Bajaj Chetak reigned supreme, the demand for scooters shrank to just 12% of the two-wheeler market by 2006-07. That year, seven bikes rolled out of showrooms for every scooter sold. The ‘unthinkable’ happened in early-2010 when Bajaj stopped making scooters altogether.
Yet, fiscal 2015-16 ended with scooters almost back to their 1999-2000 market share. Now, the sales ratio is closer to two bikes to a scooter. While Activa has led the fightback, other models from rivals like TVS, Yamaha and Suzuki have also tasted success.
So far this year, Activa has outsold Splendor every month. In February, it led by 20,714 units or 11% and the lead is as steep as nearly 30,000 units in May. Although Activa has overtaken the Hero bike intermittently in the past as well, this is the first time it has maintained its lead so convincingly for so long (five months in a row).
Slowing rural demand for budget bikes after two rain-deficit years might be weighing down Splendor’s sales but a confident Honda says there is more to these results than El Nino.
The lead this time is “not by chance, but the result of a sustained and long-drawn strategy”, it insists. The scooter is available in three models, priced from Rs 47,000 to Rs 60,500.
While bikes tap only men’s market, Activa scores with all Unisex appeal pushed up Activa sales to 12 million.
Activa is certainly no overnight wonder. Launched in 2001, its unisex appeal has resulted in sales of 12 million units so far. While bikes only tapped into the demand from men, Activa found takers among girl students, homemakers and working women as well as men. “Of the total scooters sold in the country across various brands, about 35% are used by women and girls,” said Y S Guleria, head of sales and marketing at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI).
Contemporary and ‘substantial’ styling at a time when other scooters looked toy-like, a responsive and reliable engine, good fuel economy and freedom from gearshifts made Activa fit the bill for short commutes on congested city roads. For peace of mind, it even came with puncture-resistant ‘Tuffup’ tubes before tubeless tyres became the norm.
The scooter is now available in three models and two engine sizes — 110cc and 125cc — priced from Rs 47,000 to Rs 60,500. Splendor, which has sold 28 million units since its launch under the Hero Honda label in 1994, is priced from Rs 47,000 to Rs 51,000.
Publicly, the Munjal family-led Hero has not evinced any nervousness about Activa, and points to Splendor’s lead over the full year in 2015-16. A Hero spokesperson said: “Splendor continues to be the largest-selling two-wheeler brand in the country in terms of annual sales. It continues to sell well over 2 million motorcycles annually despite a sluggish industry environment — a testimony to its massive popularity.”
Guleria countered the claim, “Since its launch in 2001, the brand Activa has only been getting stronger. It still enjoys a waiting period.”
Ironically, Splendor’s enormous success , its ubiquity, may be its biggest handicap. Adman Prahlad Kakkar said its success has bred a fair amount of brand fatigue. “It is an old brand. Youngsters today want something new, good looking and loaded with contemporary features. Only fuel efficiency won’t work.”