Tamilnow Articles -> Indian Two wheeler industry, Key players and Types of two-wheelers

India is the second largest producer and manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world. Indian two-wheeler industry has got spectacular growth in the last few years. Indian two-wheeler industry had a small beginning in the early 50's. The Automobile Products of India (API) started manufacturing scooters in the country.

Bikes are a major segment of Indian two wheeler industry, the other two being scooters and mopeds. Indian companies are among the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world. Hero Honda and Bajaj Auto are two of the Indian companies that top the list of world companies manufacturing two-wheelers.

The two-wheeler market was opened to foreign companies in the mid 1980s. The openness of Indian market to foreign companies lead to the arrival of new models of two-wheelers into India. Easy availability of loans from the banks, relatively low rate of interest and the discount of prices offered by the dealers and manufacturers lead to the increasing demand for two-wheeler vehicles in India. This lead to the strong growth of Indian automobile industry.

Kinetic Honda was introduced in the Indian market during the mid 80s. The main feature of Kinetic Honda is its ease of use. This helped the youngsters and the women to buy scooters.

Key players in the Two-wheeler Industry :
After facing its worst recession during the early 1990s, the two-wheeler industry bounced back with a 25% increase in volume sales in February 1995. The scooters are considered as family vehicles. There are many two-wheeler manufacturers in India. Major players in the 2-wheeler industry are Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML), Bajaj Auto Ltd (Bajaj Auto) and TVS Motor Company Ltd (TVS).

The other key players in the two-wheeler industry are Kinetic Motor Company Ltd (KMCL), Kinetic Engineering Ltd (KEL), LML Ltd (LML), Yamaha Motors India Ltd (Yamaha), Majestic Auto Ltd (Majestic Auto), Royal Enfield Ltd (REL) and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (P) Ltd (HMSI).

Types of Two-wheelers in India :
There are mainly three types of two-wheelers available in India. They are Motorcycles, Scooters and Scooterettes/Mopeds.

Motorcycles in India :
Bikes comprise a major segment of Indian two wheeler industry.

Scooters in India :
The scooter and the scooterette share in the Indian two wheeler market is 13.4%. The main models available in India are Bajaj Chetak, Honda Eterno, Kinetic Blaze, LML NV SPL and LML Select II.

Scooterettes/Mopeds :
TVS Motors launched India's first 50cc, 2 seater moped: TVS Moped 50. TVS also launched India's first indigenous scooterette: Scooty in 1994. This segment has about one-fourth share in the Indian two wheeler industry. The major models available in India are Bajaj Wave, Bajaj Kristal DTSi, Bajaj Blade DTSi, Hero Honda Pleasure, Kinetic Kine, Kinetic 4S, Kinetic Nova, Kinetic Zoom, Kinetic V2 Range, Kinetic King 100, Kinetic Luna Super, Kinetic Luna TFR, Yo Smart, Honda Dio, Honda Activa, TVS Scooty and TVS XL.