A TALE OF TWO WHEELS

CORPORATE SAMURAI ATSUSHI OGATA’S HONDA HAS ACCELERATED TO WITHIN SNIFFING DISTANCE OF HOMEGROWN CHAMPION PAWAN MUNJAL’S HERO MOTOCORP. AS THEY STRENGTHEN THEIR OWN FORTRESSES, STRIKE AT EACH OTHER’S STRONGHOLDS, AND JOSTLE FOR POLE POSITION, THE ULTIMATE BATTLE UNFOLDS

- PRERNA LIDHOO AND ALOKESH BHATTACHARYYA

PROLOGUE

The Samurai swordmasters of Japan were legendary for their poise and calm in battle. They lived by Bushido, a code of ethics that stressed on loyalty, self-discipline, and respectful behaviour. While the Samurai don’t exist today, there are some in the Land of the Rising Sun that the ancient fighters would approve of. In the battlefields of the corporate world, Atsushi Ogata, 60, Managing Director, President and CEO of Honda Motorcycle Scooter India HMSI), would surely be one such.

Let’s understand why. In December 2010, two-wheeler makers Hero Group of India and Honda Motor Co. of Japan went their separate ways after 26 years of a successful partnership. That year FY11), market leader Hero sold 3.7 million vehicles more than Honda in India, according to data from Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers SIAM). In FY22, that gap shrank to just over a million vehicles. In AprilOctober FY23, the gap was a mere 400,000 vehicles. Add exports to the mix, and the gap falls to 300,000 vehicles. Top that up: this September turned out to be the first month since their separation when HMSJ had higher retail sales of two-wheelers than Hero MotoCorp—298,000 vs 267,000—according to data from Vahan, a government website that tracks vehicle registrations. Thereafter, Hero sold more units in the next two months, but in November, HMSI grew at 38 percent year-on-year, compared to Hero at 12 per cent.)

Next step, market leadership for HMSI in FY23 or FY24, right? Put that query to HMSI’s honcho, and instead of drumbeats and swagger, what comes across isa soft, almost sheepish, whisper: