Scooters
The scooter segment can be further classified into the geared and the ungeared scooter segment. Geared scooters are generally metal bodied while the ungeared ones come in plastic bodies.
The demand for geared scooters is primarily from the middle-aged group who has a family to look after. They would look out for the utility value of the vehicle. The demand for geared scooters is price sensitive compared to motorcycles.
The demand for gearless scooters (or scooterettes) is mainly from women, teenagers and the student community. They are basically easy to handle and ride. Demand in this segment is also price sensitive. The scooterettes were first introduced by BAL (Sunny) followed by TVS Suzuki (Scooty).
Until 1990, the geared scooter dominated the two-wheeler market with their sales equaling the combined sales of motorcycles and mopeds. However, things have changed in the 90s with customer preference shifting from geared scooters to motorcycles and also to an extent to the premium end scooters and scooterettes.
This is mainly because of better fuel-efficiency and ruggedness of motorcycles and better maneuverability and aesthetic appeal of scooterettes.
Scooter sales have increased from 0.91mn in FY91 to 1.25mn in FY2000 at a CAGR of 3.6%. But sales growth has dropped from a high of 24%yoy in FY95 to 7.1%yoy in FY97. FY99 saw better times with sales growth rising to 5.5%yoy. In FY2000, scooter sales fell by 5.4%yoy to 1,253,969 units over last year.
The future growth in the scooter segment will be more from the scooterettes or gearless scooters segment, as compared to basic models.
The four-stroke models of geared scooters, which were expected to create some demand, have not yet been able to do so. This may be due to the their associated drawbacks like increased risk of skidding, vibration problems and restricted efficiency gains. Also higher maintenance costs due to the large number of moving parts add up to the disadvantages of buying a four-stroke scooter.
Taking into account the various factors, we expect sales in the geared scooter segment to fall by around 20%yoy in FY01 while that of the scooterette segment to grow by around 30% yoy.
The scooter segment can be further classified into the geared and the ungeared scooter segment. Geared scooters are generally metal bodied while the ungeared ones come in plastic bodies.
The demand for geared scooters is primarily from the middle-aged group who has a family to look after. They would look out for the utility value of the vehicle. The demand for geared scooters is price sensitive compared to motorcycles.
The demand for gearless scooters (or scooterettes) is mainly from women, teenagers and the student community. They are basically easy to handle and ride. Demand in this segment is also price sensitive. The scooterettes were first introduced by BAL (Sunny) followed by TVS Suzuki (Scooty).
Until 1990, the geared scooter dominated the two-wheeler market with their sales equaling the combined sales of motorcycles and mopeds. However, things have changed in the 90s with customer preference shifting from geared scooters to motorcycles and also to an extent to the premium end scooters and scooterettes.
This is mainly because of better fuel-efficiency and ruggedness of motorcycles and better maneuverability and aesthetic appeal of scooterettes.
Scooter sales have increased from 0.91mn in FY91 to 1.25mn in FY2000 at a CAGR of 3.6%. But sales growth has dropped from a high of 24%yoy in FY95 to 7.1%yoy in FY97. FY99 saw better times with sales growth rising to 5.5%yoy. In FY2000, scooter sales fell by 5.4%yoy to 1,253,969 units over last year.
The future growth in the scooter segment will be more from the scooterettes or gearless scooters segment, as compared to basic models.
The four-stroke models of geared scooters, which were expected to create some demand, have not yet been able to do so. This may be due to the their associated drawbacks like increased risk of skidding, vibration problems and restricted efficiency gains. Also higher maintenance costs due to the large number of moving parts add up to the disadvantages of buying a four-stroke scooter.
Taking into account the various factors, we expect sales in the geared scooter segment to fall by around 20%yoy in FY01 while that of the scooterette segment to grow by around 30% yoy.