Honda Activa pips Hero's Splendor to become India's best selling 2-wheeler

New Delhi: HMSI Tuesday said its Activa scooter range has become the top selling two-wheeler in India dethroning rival Hero MotoCorp's long running number one Splendor series in the first six months of this year.

Citing SIAM data, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said its Activa range sold 13,38,015 units in the January-June period as against 12,33,725 units of Hero's Splendor series.

"Ending the 17-year-long monopoly of motorcycles, Honda's Activa (an automatic scooter) is now ruling two-wheeler sales as India's highest selling two-wheeler of 2016 with a lead of over one lakh units over its nearest competition," HMSI said in a statement.

The company further said Activa "added 1,97,295 units over last year in just six months (Jan-June, 2016) to be on the top".

HMSI Senior Vice President - Sales and Marketing Yadvinder Singh Guleria said: "Activa today represents the metamorphosis of the society. The superior convenience, unisex appeal coupled with product features -- increased mileage, style and technology -- has converted millions from pillions to riders."

While HMSI sells three models under its Activa range -- Activa 3G, Activa 125 and Activa i, while Hero MotoCorp has Super Spendor, Splendor+, Splendor PRO, Splendor PRO Classic, Splendor iSmart under its Spendor range of motorcycles.

HMSI had launched the Activa in 2001 and sales rose from 55,000 units in its debut year 2001-02 to over 2.46 million units in last 2015-16, the company added.

Today, Activa has over 12 million customers in India, the company added.

Later in the day, Hero MotoCorp said the change in the top spot of the best selling two-wheeler brand was mainly due to the slowdown in the motorcycle segment while the scooter segment has grown in double digits.

"In FY?16, scooters grew at 11 per cent while motorcycles declined by 0.5 per cent. In the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal (FY17), scooters have grown at 26 per cent compared to just 9 per cent growth in motorcycles," a Hero MotoCorp spokesperson said in a statement.

Despite the tepid growth in its segment, Splendor continues to sell well over two million bikes annually - a testimony to its massive popularity among customers, he added.

Stating that Hero MotoCorp is not dependent on a single brand, he said: "Over the past few years, we have built an expanded portfolio of popular brands across segments. For example, in addition to Splendor, two more Hero motorcycles - Passion and HF Deluxe - sell over a million units annually."