In May 2016, Honda Activa once again beat the Hero Splendor to emerge as the country’s top-selling two-wheeler brand. This is not the first time we have seen Honda Activa doing more sales than the Splendor, but what’s new here is the fact that Honda’s scooter brand has managed to do it for the fifth month in a row. It was January 2016, when the Activa outsold the Splendor for the first this year, and since then there has been no looking back for the Japanese two-wheeler maker.
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The Honda Activa’s lead in January 2016 was 10,788 units, which in May came to 30,000 units. While the Activa continues to see buyers from urban centres and smaller cities, the Splendor has seen a steep drop in its sales due to poor demand in rural areas – the stronghold of the 17-year old brand. And that’s primarily due to slowing rural economy after two consecutive rain-deficit years. While Hero still claims to have a lead over any other two-wheeler brand in annual sales, but this is the first time when the Spelndor has not been on top of the sales chart for the fifth month in a row.
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Another reason the Honda Activa has maintained its lead is the fact that it gets demand from all age groups and genders, while the Splendor see demand for men only. Also, with rising congestion and traffic problems in major cities more and more people are going for scooter these days. And it’s not just Honda scooters that are doing well, brands like TVS, Suzuki and Yamaha too have been been generating good numbers in the segment. As a matter of fact, TVS has sold over 1 million units of the Jupiter in just 30 months.
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Coming to the Activa, Honda’s scooter brand was launched in 2001 and the company has sold over 12 million units of the scooter so far. Currently available in three different models – Activa i, 3G, 125 – priced between Rs 47,000 – Rs 51,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
