CHENNAI: Moped is dead. Long live the moped. The ubiquitous two-wheeler that once roamed around the countryside and considered a dead segment is making quiet inroads into the market.
In May, the country produced 70,001 mopeds , up from 54,702 units in May last year or 28% more in number terms. More importantly , May 2011 saw the highest moped sales for any month ever. The Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) has projected a growth of only 12 to 14% for the domestic two-wheeler industry this year.
"Moped as a segment has a great future. For now it may seem as a very small segment. But, if manufacturers tweak the product to the changed needs of the customer, this segment can see much higher numbers," Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers said.
"This is situation like the scooters of the early 1990s when everyone thought the segment is dead. Then came automatic scooters and sales zoomed. We need someone to innovate in the moped segment which will drive up volumes ," Majeed said.
In a market where motorcycle sales is upwards of a million units a month, selling 70,000 mopeds may not sound exciting. "Today, TVS Motor is the only big manufacturer of mopeds. There aren't any other serious player in the segment ," industry sources said.
"Mopeds have long moved and ceased to be a vehicle which just moved people from one point to another. Today, it is more a multi-activity vehicle with fitments and modifications (which can move light goods). Its position as the entry level motorized vehicle with two wheels cannot be challenged," Kumar Kandaswami , senior director, and country manufacturing industry leader, Deloitte said.
Industry watchers say that it is the pricing of the product which keeps manufacturers away. "Take TVS. Their moped manufacturing lines have been ammortized over the years and hence they have the pricing power on mopeds. For a new entrant , the pricing would be difficult to match. However, it is a situation like the one tonne pick-up segment. Till Tata launched Ace, nobody thought there is a market. After volumes started picking up, almost everyone is there now," industry sources said.
There are a lot of people watching the segment from the fence, hoping to see how volumes are picking up. "With little bit of innovation and higher volumes, I expect the segment to drive up higher sales," PwC's Majeed said.
Source -
Mopeds make a comeback in motown - The Economic Times
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07-21-2011, 12:08 PM
Mopeds make a comeback in motown
