After much delay, India’s second-largest two-wheeler maker, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), is planning to launch its first electric vehicle (EV) in the country by March this year.
The company had, in March 2023, stated that it would launch its first two EVs by March 2024. However, its plans got delayed. “We will soon be coming with an EV (which means electric scooter). We are the only company that is left out. We plan to launch it in this financial year,” Yogesh Mathur, director – sales and marketing, HMSI, told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
“The EV market is exciting. Till last year, its share was about five per cent, and it has increased to about eight per cent of the total sales in the scooter market. The contribution of EVs is increasing. By 2030, a major chunk of the market would have shifted towards EVs. By 2030, as we have announced, EVs will contribute one-third of our total sales,” he added.
In the last 12-18 months, India’s old major two-wheeler makers such as TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, and Hero MotoCorp have solidified their positions in the electric scooter market. These three companies are now among the top five electric scooter sellers in India.
When asked if the company is late in entering the electric scooter market, Mathur replied: “We are not late. It was a business decision we took. Last time, we said that one-third of the motorcycle market was in the 100-110cc segment. We were missing. So, we came up and launched Shine 100, which is now giving us very good growth numbers. So, we were prioritising our own challenges.”
Mathur mentioned that the availability or unavailability of subsidies for EVs does not make much difference to Honda. “Our product strategy and conditioning will be based on the current condition of the market. Roads Minister Gadkari recently stated that the EV segment has matured enough, so subsidies are eventually going to go off. We will be living with that condition,” he stated.
Bajaj Auto had, in July, launched the world’s first CNG motorcycle. On this matter, Mathur mentioned: “India’s market is too versatile to accommodate all types of powertrains. There is room for EVs, CNG, flex fuel, etc., all such kinds of products coming in. The size and scale of the industry is so big that everyone can have a harmonious coexistence.”
Overall, the growth in urban areas is more than in rural areas, he said. “The first quarter of every financial year is always a marriage season in rural areas. This time, there was no marriage season in the first quarter. Unfortunately, the long tenure of elections and delayed monsoons have also impacted growth in rural areas,” he added.
“Even right now, we are observing flash floods and not the normal monsoon. If you look at the data, the monsoon—between June 1 and September 5—was more than 8 per cent year-on-year. However, this is more flash floods rather than a normal monsoon. What we understand is that once this monsoon settles down, sales during the festival season would be much better,” he mentioned.
The 125cc segment—whether in scooters or motorcycles—is growing the fastest. “We are strong in that segment. We launched products such as Dio 125 and Shine 100 in the second half of last year, which aided the sales in 2024,” he mentioned.
First Published: Sep 10 2024 | 8:20 PM IST
