Two-wheeler sales dip

CHENNAI, November 6: The general slowdown in the automobile industry has finally caught up with the two-wheeler segment as well with sales declining by 2.5 per cent for the first time in many years during the first half HI of the current fiscal.

During April-September 1997, two-wheeler sales declined to 14.39 lakh from 14.75 lakh vehicles. While sale of scooters and mopeds slipped by eight and 10 per cent respectively, the motorcycle segment continued to buck the trend with a handsome 11 per cent growth. Bajaj Auto, the industry leader, has borne the brunt of the slowdown losing market share in all segments. In the scooter segment, LML grabbed a significant chunk of Bajaj8217;s share. In motorcycles, Hero Honda not only overtook Bajaj to the top slot, but has also established a lead of almost 50,000 bikes. In the moped segment, Bajaj8217;s sales dropped by 42 per cent. During the six-month period, Bajaj scooter sales dropped by 21.5 per cent to 2.95 lakh vehicles from 3.75 lakh scooters. Correspondingly, its market share dropped to 48.56 per cent from 57.12 per cent.

LML, which held one-fifth of the scooter market during the first half last year, drove well into Bajaj8217;s territory and ended September, 1997, with one-fourth of the market share. In the first half of this year, LML sold 1.52 lakh scooters as against 1.36 lakh scooters. All other scooter manufacturers saw a modest increase in their sales and market shares. However, during this fiscal only 6.07 lakh scooters were sold as against 6.57 lakh scooters during the corresponding period last year.