Do Indians Now Prefer Scooters To Motorcycles?

[Gurrala74]

Do Indians now prefer scooters to motorcycles?

It is indeed interesting to read this news today and we could share our views on the same as how the this tread is changing now

I have also added a poll on the same to see what is the trend among the TAIans !!

Sales of scooters will have outpaced those of motorcycles in the 110-125cc segment by the end of this financial year.

Scooters are no longer considered the second vehicle in the family. By the end of February, 2,434,025 scooters in the segment were sold in the country against 1,765,868 motorcycles, show data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

That was a growth of 25 per cent year-on-year for scooters in April (2013)-February (2014) even as sales of motorcycles fell three per cent in the period.
Lower mileage was a reason why people used to prefer motorcycles over scooters. Scooter makers have through technological advancements closed that gap.

From 35-40 km a litre, scooters now run as much as 60 km on a litre of petrol.

Do Indians now prefer scooters to motorcycles? - Rediff Getahead

 

[Mr.Boss]

I have also added a poll on the same to see what is the trend among the TAIans !!

Voted for Motorcycle, now and ever.
I like the comfort and convenience of Scooters, but always I prefer Motorcycles over Scooters.

 

[bhvm]

I will vote for the scooters.
they're easy to drive.
they have practically luggage space.
better comfort.
and, better image in the eyes of police and others.

 

[Gurrala74]

^^My heart says bike always especially for the ride comfort on bad roads, but again scooters(gearless) are boon in everyday city traffic and ofcourse for their luggage carrying capacity which is handy for any family. Scooter is again used by a male or female depending on the need. So with the present trend of gearless scooters which are more powerful, few are coming with big wheels to give more comfort and finally our famous "kitna deti hai" which play a big role with any middle class buyer to achieve considerable FE when petrol prices are not like earlier. So in my view gearless scooters are going to cross the bikes sales in India soon.

I need to vote one out of these options and I have listened to my mind this time !!

 

[Releesh]

Both has different use.
If you have less than 25 km/day usage you can go for scooter or else go for a bike.

I am sure scooters will overcome bike sales within 3-4 years and buying a scooter become a trend(though they already have a bike & car) in middle class family here.people buying scooter because everyone in the family can use a scooter.

As mentioned in the first post nowadays Scooter become the first option for the families, when they look for a 2 wheeler.

 

[bhvm]

Re: Does Indians Now Prefer Scooters To Motorcycles?

the advantage with scooters is that they can be used by anyone in family. on the other hand bike is mostly for young men.

scooter is also much more comfortable as seats are larger. trendy scooters like vespa are now eating into premium bike sales. also today's scooters do not have the old 'aunty' image.

 

[ERTIGA_ZMR]

Re: Does Indians Now Prefer Scooters To Motorcycles?

I have both and used for different purpose. For long distance and daily office commute I prefer bike and for short spin like getting groceries scooter.

 

[Releesh]

Re: Does Indians Now Prefer Scooters To Motorcycles?

^^ Ertiga Zmr
Same is my case too. I am using my Gs150R for office commute (70 km/daily) and Honda Dio for local use. Actually Dio bought for my wife. she using it for her office commute too (daily 6km total)

One interesting thing happened last week.

While i went to a shop near by my home on Dio, 2 guys on another brand new yellow Dio were came near to me and asked, whether i am ready to sell the Scooter. My Dio is 2009 dec model which came with 'yellow & Black' combination and we used it very less and it still looks like new one. As always, i asked for an amount (Rs.40K) which i thought they never give. (I bought it for Rs 48 K OTR)
Due to the fancy colour it is very much attracted by teens and so many people given offers to me earlier also (when it is 6 months old, a guy offered me the on road price i paid, because the colour combination had changed at that time and this type one was not available.)
But surprisingly they were ready to buy my vechicle. When i asked them, the new one has around 8 months (for yellow & mat grey) waiting period now and they bought the new one which they came by giving 3K additional after one month of booking. They told it is for one of that guys to goto college. He is ready to spend around 15K to modify with projecter lamp, K&N filter and graphix too.

 

[chetan]

Can Sales of Scooters Overtake That of Motorcycles in India?

Scooters used to dominate Indian roads a few decades ago. In 1996, they fell in share but still occupied almost half of our two-wheeler sales while motorcycles stood at about 30 per cent. By 2006, the reversal was dramatic. We became a market that bought 87 per cent motorcycles and 12 per cent scooters. Since then, the automatic scooter has been growing as fast as 40 per cent year on year and has now hit about 25 per cent share in the Indian two-wheeler market. If scooters grow at this rate and motorcycles stay at a growth rate of 6 to 10 per cent, then scooters could equal motorcycles once more, right?

The industry seems to agree that the current upswing in scooters will bring them to about 30 per cent in four or five years and 35 to 40 per cent of the market is, further, possible. Scooters are already at 35 per cent or so in volume in the ‘urbanised’ states – Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Urbanised implies good urban road infrastructure, a significant number of working women etc. The more states that follow this trend, the more scooters will benefit. Women as a market segment are still considered as less than significant players in two-wheelers and the second reasonable assumption is that women entering the workplace will prefer scooters, boosting sales, though not at the expense of motorcycles. Further, scooters are India-friendly. You can carry stuff, they are easy to ride and in the family context, almost everyone can ride one. Finally, the fuel efficiency gap between scooters and motorcycles has been narrowing. In fact, even outside the big cities people have taken to scooters because they work well for their use pattern – some load and short trips.

It is harder to predict what happens once scooters cross 36-38 per cent, say in 2020. Their growth rate will slow and it’d be foolish to assume motorcycles will not bounce back. Many believe the equilibrium point is hard to call but could be at about the 40-45 per cent scooters overall, though accuracy is impossible until scooters actually hit 35 per cent at least.

We believe improving urban infrastructure and other factors will favour scooters. While many refuse to stick their necks out and make a call – not one person we spoke to said it is impossible – we believe that India is well on its way to being a market where scooters and motorcycles have equal volumes. The equilibrium will be around the parity mark though it is going to take another 15-20 years.

Honda Activa overtakes Splendor as highest-selling two-wheeler in India again.

 

[MSN1]

Re: Can sales of scooters overtake that of motorcycles in India?

Honda Activa overtakes Splendor as highest-selling two-wheeler in India again.

that doesnt meant number of scotters sold out is higher than number of bikes sold out in a particular time frame

Splendor sales is lesser than Honda Activa, because splendor share was swollen by some other brand / variant motorbikes, as type / variants of bikes are 4 or 6 times higher than scooters

in india scooters ranging in cc from 98cc to 125 cc (Honda Eterno 150cc scotter was there earlier)

but in case of motorbikes the range in cc starts from 100 cc (99.xx cc) to 1000cc more

under any of this top manufacturers bajaj or honda or hero or yamaha port folio
you will find more motorbike models than number of scooter models they have

yes i agree scotter sales are increasing day by day, sooner it will touch 40 % market share in two wheelers, but i didnt seen any positive sign of overall scotters sales % overtaking motorcycles

 

[Releesh]

Re: Can Sales of Scooters Overtake That of Motorcycles in India?

I think we are discussing the same subject in a different thread.

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-indians-now-prefer-scooters-motorcycles.html

 

[350Z]

Re: Can Sales of Scooters Overtake That of Motorcycles in India?

I think we are discussing the same subject in a different thread.

Thanks for bringing this to notice. Threads merged. On a related note, I read an interesting article last week over the conflict of Rahul and Rajiv Bajaj.

Senior, on one hand, never wanted to stop the production of Bajaj Scooters. On the other hand, the son had different plans but with a reasonable logic. Here's the article:

Rahul vs. Rajiv: They Still Differ Over 'Hamara Bajaj'​

It is fairly well known that when Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj decided to shut its scooter business, chairman Rahul Bajaj, his father, was not excited at the prospect. After all, Bajaj scooters were an iconic part of India and had become synonymous with its middle-class. The senior Bajaj, speaking at the NDTV Indian of the Year award ceremony, on Tuesday said he still maintains that scooter production should not have been stopped, even after five years since the momentous decision. Rajiv Bajaj was conferred with NDTV Business Leader of the Year award.

"I think logic and emotion should go together otherwise you're in trouble in life whether in business or otherwise but I still believe the scooter production should not have stopped," Rahul Bajaj said, appearing alongside Rajiv Bajaj on stage. The senior Bajaj also said since Bajaj Auto was branching out into things beyond two and three wheelers now, maybe the scooter business could be looked at again. He however added that the decision was entirely left to the current managing director Rajiv Bajaj.

"The difference between him and me is this, he's focused on motorcycles but also three-wheelers and now he's bringing out a four-wheeler. Well, I said what was wrong with the scooter, where we were the king of the road. "But that time the market was changing from scooter to motorcycle and we were really a scooter manufacturer and Hero and others... they were really motorcycle manufacturers to that extent there was logic because we couldn't do everything, our R&D couldn't do everything but whether now he goes into it or not is for him to decide, he's the CEO," the senior Mr Bajaj said.

Rajiv Bajaj's response to his father's suggestion was however was restricted to only a wry smile. Earlier on in the discussion, while defending his decision to shut scooter production, Rajiv Bajaj said, "If Bajaj has to be a global motorcycle specialist, we can't be making some mopeds and scooters and all these kinds of stuff on the side." (Source: NDTV)

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[gandhi]

Actually I see this as liberation of girls & Women to the outer world from the earlier generation. Even Gents are very well considering & motivating the ladies for motoring.

Now Bikers counts are measurably increasing on day to day basis on urban areas. My interaction with bikers, actually they love bikes more than Scooter. They felt that they got more freedom in bikes rather than scooter. Sorry... I forget to tell, they are lady bikers. I got this link from the lady biker.

http://indiagirlsonbike.blogspot.in/







I vote for Bike. No explanation because I love the bikes.

 

[MSN1]

We Indian always have one question in mind when it comes to any vehicle, yes thats " what is the mileage it gives" and thats the reason, we still dont have the long drive cruiser scooters in indian roads.