Scooters in vogue

KATHMANDU, Jan 30: As more people, particularly ladies show specific liking for scooters in a bid to escape crowded public transportation and traffic jams, sales of scooter has grown remarkably in the Kathmandu Valley in recent years.



According to automobile dealers, the sales has grown so rapidly that scooters over the last three years have recorded three-fold rise in its market share. Market share of scooters was just 6 percent three years ago; it grew to 11 percent two years ago. [break]



Last year, market share of scooter in Nepal´s automobile market stood at 19 percent. Even though overall automobile sale is on the downturn, dealers are quite optimistic about scooters sale.



“We´ve not been able to supply Dio scooters as per the demand,” Saurav Jyoti, who owns Syakar Company - the distributor of Honda in Nepal, said. “The sale of Dio is increasing remarkably. We sold 16,000 Dio scooters last year alone.”



Along with Dio, Syakar also sells Honda Aviator and Activa scooters. It also sells Pleasure scooter by Hero Honda.



“I chose scooter because of easy maneuvering and smooth ride that it offers. Also it saves me from the hassles in public transport,” said Binita Shrestha of Tahachal, who recently bought a Hero Honda Pleasure after she took up a job in a cooperative organization.



Shrestha is among thousands of women who are using scooters for increased mobility. Not only women, several other men are also attracted toward this popular two-wheeler. This has resulted in three-fold rise in sales of scooter in recent years.



“The demand for scooters is growing exponentially in the market due to increasing popularity of this two-wheeler among both men and women,” Jyoti, who is also the president of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA), said.



Raju Bhetwal, vice-president of SG Global - the authorized distributor of Mahindra two-wheelers for Nepal, said the demand for scooter is increasing due to its easy maneuvering.

SG Global has been selling three Mahindra scooters - Duro, Flyte and Rodeo - in the Nepali market. All the three models have 125cc engine.



“The very fact that we sold more than 700 scooters in just two months of acquiring dealership of Mahindra two-wheelers for Nepal highlights how strong is the demand and craze for scooters,” said Bhetwal.



The performance of other brands of scooters is also encouraging. According to dealers, scooters are gaining popularity also because they are small as compared to motorbikes and easy to maneuver.

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