The myth of Hero MotoCorp’s record October sales

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Editor's note: Over 800,000 units sold in October. That’s an impressive number, any which way you look at it. The 1 November announcement, coming as it did from the country's largest two-wheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, had a certain gravitas to it. It was immediately taken to mean that the Indian economy, after months of decline in the wake of the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, was back to firing on all cylinders. The message was further reinforced given the fact that buying a vehicle is still construed as discretionary expenditure, especially in semi-urban and rural parts of the country. The motorcycles and scooters Hero claims to have sold—806,848 to be precise—are the highest ever monthly sales in its history. By way of comparison, the company sold around 6.23 million two-wheelers in the fiscal year ended 31 March, or an average of a little more than 500,000 a month. Given that the bulk of its products are entry-level—meaning they fall in the lowest price bracket among competing brands and are bought by bottom of the pyramid buyers of …