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HMSI rolling out dealer sops to gain volumes & share in bid to end fiscal year in the lead amid strong 2W demand
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Mumbai: India's two-wheeler market is hurtling towards a climax for FY26, with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) pushing hard to catch up with market leader Hero MotoCorp , deploying sizeable dealer incentives for scooters just a week before the end of the fiscal.The Japanese company on Tuesday rolled out a wholesale incentive scheme to aggressively front-load volumes and accelerate retail traction even as demand for scooters remains strong. This follows a series of other incentives launched in the last five months."Demand is strong and inventory is in check. Yet, Honda is rolling out incentives to gain share and volumes, and to close the gap with Hero MotoCorp," said a company dealer who requested not to be identified.Text messages and emails sent to an HMSI spokesperson remained unanswered until press time on Wednesday. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the overall scooter market-including electric-increased 17.7% to 7.3 million units in the first 11 months of FY26 against 6.2 million units a year earlier.Honda, which is the market leader in scooters with its flagship Activa, however, failed to keep pace as its own scooter sales grew 7.7% to 2.8 million units from 2.6 million units during the same period, SIAM data shows. This comes as the market growth is mainly driven by electric scooters and premium 125cc petrol scooters.Honda, which is already a late entrant into the EV segment, has also quietly pulled back its electric Activa following range complaints from customers, while rivals TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto are widening their lead in the segment with new EV launches.Honda is now doubling down on its petrol dominance where the volumes are still higher."Perhaps they are also anticipating a rapid shift to EVs amid rising petrol prices," an industry insider said. "A good scheme on the Activa (petrol) could help wean buyers away from electric."In the first 11 months of FY26, Hero MotoCorp dispatched 5.5 million units to dealer outlets while Honda followed with 5.2 million.At the end of February 2026, Hero's share stood at 26.92% against Honda's 25.36%, according to FADA. Scooters account for over 53% of Honda's two-wheeler sales."HMSI has outsold Hero MotoCorp in monthly wholesales and retails in quite a few months in the past, but it has yet to achieve the feat in the full year's sales," an industry expert said. "This year could just change that."The final salvo in a push that began during last year's festive season arrived on dealer desks as a sales circular on Tuesday.