After literally being down and out during the pandemic, three-wheeler (3W) sales are back on track. November saw a 102.49% year-On-year (YoY) at 45,664 units, compared to only 22,551 3Ws in the same month last year.
As for two-wheelers (2W, motorcycles & scooters), sales totalled 1,236,190 units in November 2022 against 1,061,493 units tailed in the same month last year.
However, exports told a different story altogether. 3W shipments were only 30,889 units, down from 42,431 units in November last year. Similarly, 2W exports were down from 356,659 units to just 287,037 units in November this year (see chart 1).
Royal Enfield Outpaces The Rest
Royal Enfield grew the most YoY (46.69%) with retails of 65,760 2Ws, up from 44,830 units last year. However, its exports fell 26.64% YoY.
Suzuki Motorcycles India grew 13.46% to 63,156 units from 55,662 units in November 2021 while exports fell 38.87%. TVS Motor Company and India Yamaha Motor grew by 8.97% and 8.89% respectively. The former sold 191,730 2Ws in November 2022 while the latter reported sales of 42,802 units.
Honda closes in on Hero
While Hero MotoCorp remains the top 2W OEM, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is closing in on its former partner. The difference was minuscule in November with Hero selling 379,747 units, up 15.47%, while Honda retailed 353,553 units, a growth of 38.01%.
Bajaj Auto, however, saw its sales fall 14.81% YoY. Its new ally, Triumph, also saw a drop by 17.86% (the two are tipped to launch their midsize motorcycle in 2023) while its erstwhile partner, Kawasaki Motors, posted 6.45% YoY growth.
All 3W OEMs Grow
With 3Ws now back on track, Bajaj made the most of the tailwinds with sales of 29,166 units, a growth of 112.02%. Mahindra & Mahindra saw an increase of 102.73% with sales totalling 5,198 3Ws in November.
With 7,539 3W sales, Piaggio was up 95.01% from 3,866 units in November last year while its exports also grew 166.79% YoY. However, its 2W numbers were down to 2,790 units.
Atul Auto sold 2,002 3Ws, against 1,145 units retailed in November 2021 while Continental Engines saw sales rise by 7.07% to 33 more units from last year's levels.
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