Post government relaxations in Lockdown 3.0 and subsequently 4.0, Honda Two-wheelers India Pvt.Ltd. (HMSI) recommenced two-wheeler dispatches in May and closed the month with total sales of 54,820 two-wheelers. This includes 54,000 domestic dispatches and 820 two-wheeler exports.
Honda also announced that its 2Wheeler retail sales in May’20 crossed the 1.15 lac unit-mark and over 10.5 lac two-wheelers were serviced at Honda workshops across India. Moreover, Honda BS-VI two-wheeler cumulative sales crossed a new high of 6 lac units during the month.
May 2020 saw Honda’s entire ecosystem including dealers & suppliers rebooting their operations. Over 70% of Honda dealers have by now resumed Sales & Service operations. Parallelly, as 100% of Honda’s 308 supplier plants got approvals to restart operations, Honda also recommenced production at its Narsapura plant (Karnataka) from 25th May, with other 3 plants at Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan) and Vithalapur (Gujarat) following from the 1st week of June in a staggered manner.
Balancing social distancing with customer demand, Honda dealers across India are reaching out to their customers increasingly through the digital route. From online consultation to product selection, secured online payment to doorstep test rides & delivery; contactless customer engagement is now gaining momentum.
Recognizing the stressed up liquidity in these uncertain times, Honda is also facilitating its customers with several attractive retail finance offers. Customers can now avail up to 100% loan to value, low down-payment and savings going up to Rs. 12,000*. Parallelly, customers can also choose to buy on EMI from a range of 20+ credit and debit cards.
Elaborating on pick-up in business momentum, Mr Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director – Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “May’20 saw the wheels of business start turning slowly after the zero dispatches in the month of April’20. By now, a sizable 70% of Honda dealerships have resumed their operations. With sufficient availability of six BSVI products at our network (3 scooter & 3 motorcycle models), our network was able to kick off initial sales momentum crossing over 1.15 lac retails in May’20. In the new Coronial Era, Honda dealerships are increasingly promoting digital contactless customer engagement.
An early encouraging sign based on our survey is that close to 80% of the intenders are looking forward to purchasing their favourite Honda 2Wheeler within 3 months of the lockdown opening. Moreover, there is an increased propensity of the buyers preferring a two-wheeler over public transport for daily commuting, in this time of social distancing. Our network has swiftly realigned their operations to welcome them & meet new expectations of the Customers. On the BS-VI front, #AQuietRevolution from Honda continues to change the game with over 6 lac BS-VI two-wheelers of Honda dispatched to the market. Parallelly, Honda is accelerating its product development schedules to recover on the lockdown delays. We are happy to announce our first launch in FY’21 – the all-new CD 110 Dream BSVI (Honda’s 7th BS-VI model) at an attractive price starting from – Rs. 62,729*.”