Honda Activa beats Hero Splendor in July 2019 sales

Honda Activa has retained its numero uno spot in the Indian two-wheeler market overtaking Hero Splendor. In July 2019, 2,43,604 new customers rode home on a new Honda Activa from their dealerships in comparison to Splendor’s 1,78, 907 units. With a 36% margin, Honda Activa clearly was the customer favorite.

Introduced first in July 2001, Honda Activa was instrumental in reviving the dying scooter segment in India. In its 5^th generation, the Honda Activa 5G was unveiled at Auto Expo. The automatic scooter is powered by the tried and tested 109.19 cc mill. The powerplant can produce 7.96 PS of power and 9 Nm of torque. Besides that, the scooter is offered with tubeless tyres. However, the Honda Activa 5G is retailed only with drum brakes. The headlamp is an all-LED unit while the instrumentation is a mix of digital and analogue units.

Honda also retails an entry-level Activa i and a premium Honda Activa 125. The Japanese manufacturer is also gearing up to launch a fuel-injected BS-VI compliant version of the Activa 125 later this festive season. On the other hand, despite a slump, Hero Motocorp continues to be a major player in the industry. In fact, as per the company, every second new two-wheeler sold in India is a Hero badged product.

The battle between Honda Activa and Hero Splendor is one of the most hotly contested one in the global two-wheeler market. Hero MotoCorp earlier had a joint venture with Honda and this near three-decade long relationship ended in 2011. Post that, Honda was supplying Hero with the technical know-how till 2014.

Hero MotoCorp had recently also started home delivery of two-wheelers bought online from Hero’s official e-commerce site. The service is available at a small fee of INR 349 and is offered in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Noida. Hero is aiming to expand this service to 25 cities over the next few months in a phased manner.