In the AprilJune FY26 quarter, the twowheeler industry contracted 6.2% – from 4,985,631 units to 4,674,562 units. The country’s secondlargest twowheeler player Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), however, saw 13.1% drop in sales – from 1,414,232 units to 1,228,993 units. Sales of its scooters dropped from 794,835 units to 642,106 units, and of its motorcycles from 619,397 units to 586,887 units. But Yogesh Mathur, the director of Sales & Marketing, told FE’s Vikram Chaudhary that this drop isn’t a cause for concern, as the industry is seasonal, and will rise again with the start of the festive season. Excerpts:

Why did HMSI’s sales drop during the AprilJune quarter?

Indian twowheeler industry is seasonal. In the first quarter, sales (especially of motorcycles) are driven by demand in the north, and in states such as UP, Rajasthan, MP, and Bihar, when a lot of marriages happen. In MayJuneJuly, when the sowing season starts and during the monsoon, demand is sluggish, and then it again picks up during the festive season in August, and stays strong till Diwali. So, it isn’t really a cause for concern.

But your scooter market share has dropped significantly – it was 47.7% in Q1FY25, and this quarter it’s been just 38.6% …

Market shares must be seen from a longterm perspective, and not from a quarterly perspective. Whenever a new product gets launched, it attracts attention, and some market share shifts happen. That’s natural.

In the last fiscal year, HMSI was India’s largest twowheeler player during some months. Is there a focus on becoming India’s top player on a consistent basis?

The focus is on the highest levels of customer satisfaction and service. Happy customers are our benchmark, not numbers.

What kind of bookings have your two electric scooters, the ACTIVA e: and the QC1, attracted?

It was only around March that we started their sales, and that too in a phased manner across India, so it’s a bit early for sharing bookings. But the demand is good – we have reached 21 cities, and by the end of this year we plan to cover 50% of the electric twowheeler market. The ACTIVA e: has a 7.0inch TFT screen, is connected to the Internet, and comes with two swappable batteries, each of 1.5kWh capacity. The QC1 has a 1.5kWh fixed battery pack, 5inch LCD display, and 26litre underseat storage space.

While HMSI is big in commuter motorcycles, why hasn’t it been able to crack the midsize segment of 250 cc and above?

We have a separate vertical called Big Wing for midsize and bigger motorcycles, and that will be a key focus area this year. We have 150 Big Wing stores across the country, and by the end of FY26 we plan to open another 70odd stores.