The domestic two-wheeler sales witnessed 21 percent year-on-year decline in January, even as the segment registered a 14 percent sequential growth in domestic wholesale volumes, according to credit ratings agency ICRA. The numbers are based on the data released by six major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), ICRA said in a statement on Wednesday.
The low year-on-year sales volume in January highlights the adverse impact of price hikes, fuel inflation, and
Omicron-related concerns on consumer sentiments, said Rohan Kanwar Gupta, Vice President and Sector Head - Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited. Noting that the supply chain issues in the production of premium motorcycles also persisted, he said, the reinstatement of localised restrictions, to contain the third wave of the pandemic, constrained retail sales and led to an 11 percent sequential (14 percent year-on-year) fall in volumes, to 10.2 lakh units.
Nonetheless, the industry is cautiously optimistic about recovery in the coming months, with easing supply chain constraints and spillover impact from positive announcements on infrastructure spends and agri-initiatives in the
Union Budget, Gupta stated.
In contrast to the domestic sales environment, steady demand from African and Latin America (LATAM) regions continued to be the silver lining for the industry, with
exports clocking steady volumes of over 3.5 lakh units in January 2022, registering a 3 percent sequential growth, according to ICRA.
Gupta also noted that the domestic electric two-wheeler sales continued to have a dream run in the April-January period of FY2022, posting 5 times year-on-year growth at 1.49 lakh unit sales. In January 2022, the high-speed e-two-wheelers saw an 11 percent month-on-month growth with 27,563 unit sales (highest monthly sales this year), Gupta said.
First Published: Feb 2, 2022 3:12 PM IST
