Weighing convenience as well as safety, some young women, and their parents, see the scooter as the best solution for commuting to work, going to college or simply going out to meet friends.
Scooter sales were up nearly 20 percent
in the nine months through December, according to Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers data, easily outpacing the 2.5 percent sales growth of full-size
motorcycles. Sales of cars, trucks and buses all fell.
Still, scooters accounted for only 20 percent of India's 14 million-unit
two-wheeler market in the last financial year. Two wheelers are the most common
mode of transport for millions of middle-class Indians.Both Honda and Yamaha have identified the growth potential in scooters, and are building models designed for women and adding new plants to keep up with demand.
"College-going girls and working women are really creating this demand-wave in the scooter segment," said Abdul Majeed, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers India.
"Housewives are also using scooters to drop (off) kids and buy vegetables," Majeed said, adding that he expects strong sales growth to continue and for companies to launch more scooters geared
Yamaha launched its first Indian
scooter designed for women, the Ray, in 2012. The bike sells for around about
47,000 rupees and comes in colours such as 'starry white', 'plush pink' and
'burgundy bliss'. About 70 percent of the women who buy it for themselves are
under 30, the company says.
"They don't want to trouble
their parents or brothers. They want personal mobility," said Roy Kurian,
vice president of marketing and sales at Yamaha in India. "If a guy had to
ride then he would have gone for a motorcycle," he said.
HONDA REVS UP PRODUCTION
The potential sales opportunities
presented by India's fast-growing middle class, and in particular more
independent-minded women, has caught the attention of the two-wheel giants.
Honda Motor said on Wednesday it
would build a fourth motorcycle factory in India with initial investment of
roughly 11 billion Indian rupees and annual output capacity of 1.2 million
vehicles.
The factory, to be located in the
state of Gujarat, is due to start production in 2015, the world's biggest
motorcycle maker said in a statement.
About 3,000 new jobs will be created
at the plant, which will mainly manufacture scooters, demand of which has
surged in the world's biggest two-wheeler market.
Last month, Honda expanded
production capacity at its third motorcycle factory in India by 600,000
vehicles a year. The fourth plant will bring Honda's total capacity in India to
5.8 million motorcycles a year, the company said.
Local player Hero MotoCorp
(NSI:HEROMOTOCO) also sees the potential of women buyers. "Why should boys
have all the fun?" asks Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra in a commercial
for Hero MotoCorp's Pleasure scooter.
Besides being more maneuverable than
motorbikes, the step-through frame of scooters means makes it easy to ride
wearing a skirt or traditional saree. Scooters also usually have space under
the seat big enough to stow a handbag.
While the scooter provides women
with an alternative to using public transport, safety issues abound on India's
notoriously dangerous roads. And few would risk riding alone at night.
Manufacturers have identified the
south and west of the country - regions that tend to be less socially
conservative than northern India - as the most profitable markets for
women-friendly scooters.
Bharat Makwana, who runs a small
chemicals business in the commercial capital Mumbai, said that instead of
buying a motorcycle for himself, six months ago he bought a Honda scooter so
his wife and daughter could also use it.
"The scooter is for the entire
family. When my 17-year-old daughter turns a year older she can use the scooter
herself."
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