With TVS behind it, Honda looks to wrest No. 2 spot in two-wheelers from Bajaj

After overtaking TVS Motor in January, Honda has now trained its sights on Bajaj Auto (BAL), with February sales of the Japanese two-wheeler giant's Indian operations just 7,000 units short of the Pune-headquartered company.

While BAL's sales in the second month of the year at 2.04 lakh units have barely moved from 2.02 lakh units in January, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has recorded an 11.2% sales growth in February over the previous month at 1.97 lakh units. For the 11-month period between April and February, however, BAL is well ahead, by some 5.73 lakh units, compared with HMSI's 1.783 million.

That gap could, however, narrow significantly, with HMSI now counting on a debut in the entrylevel motorbike segment to take on BAL.

"Without a mass motorcycle, we are No. 3; with the launch of the Yuga 110cc in May-end this year, we will be very close to No. 2," says NK Rattan, HMSI's VP for sales, marketing, planning & corporate affairs (at the time of writing Rattan had put in his papers at HMSI with March 10 as his last day).

The Yuga, which will have a couple of variants, is expected to be priced competitively at Rs 40,000-42,000. Hero MotoCorp dominates the mass segment, which accounts for a fifth of the total two-wheeler market, with the CD Dawn priced at Rs 36,000 (ex-showroom Delhi).

BAL's entry-level product is the Boxer 150cc - it has a 100cc model, too, but that is only for exports - that retails at around Rs 42,000. HMSI's lowest-priced motorcycle in India currently is the CB Twister at just under Rs 44,000. If Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj is worried, he isn't showing it.