Mopeds and Scooterettes

If the metal bodied scooters have fallen out of the consumers' choice, scooterettes have been climbing up the popularity charts lately. These set of two wheelers are a hit among people over the age group of 45, women and the young adults. These two wheelers are lighter which makes them easier to handle, they come with a digital ignition system to do away with the inconvenience of the kick start.

They also have smaller wheels for better balance and maneuverability. They cater to the load carrying and personal transport requirement of most urban two wheeler user.scooterettes and moped segment amount for a quarter of the two wheeler market share in India and about 8% of all the exports which takes place from the country. One company which has remained in the forefront of scooterettes and mopeds manufacturing in the country is TV Sundram Iyengar and Sons Limited (TVS), they were the first to launch an indigenous scooterettes in the Sub 100 cc category in the year 1984. Incidentally the company had also launched a two-seater 50 cc moped in the year 1980.

HondaMotorcycle and scooter India Limited

However it was not until the entry of HondaMotorcycle and scooter India Limited in the late 90s which revolutionized the un-geared scooter market in the country. The entry of HondaActiva brought about a much needed change in the scooterettes and moped market in the country though the latter can't strictly be included in this category. The market then had not seen any significant change for about 10 years till the time Hondahad come in with its' set of two wheelers.

Now most of the two wheeler companies like Bajaj Auto, Hondamotors, Kinetic motors have their presence in the scooterettes segment.

Mopeds were first manufactured in the country by automobile Products of India in the year 1955. Nearly three decades later the first indigenous two-seater moped was rolled out of the TVS factory in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. mopeds have also seen a downward trend in sales in the recent years. It's because the boys prefer motorcycles to mopeds and girls usually go for a scooterette rather that these metal bodied two-wheelers.

Mopeds are mainly used for commuting by the lower middle class; it is also used as utility vehicle in the rural areas. The looks hardly matter for these less than 100cc set of two wheels; it's the economy factor which comes to the forefront.

Here are the list of some moped manufacturers and their products.

Kinetic Motor

Kinetic V2 range which includes Kinetic V2 XL and Kinetic V2 80
Kinetic King 100 and Kinetic King Dlx
Kinetic Luna Super
Kinetic Luna TFR

TVS Motor

TVS XL which includes TVS XL Super and TVS XL Super Heavy Duty
With the motorcycles becoming more fuel efficient with every passing day the moped might see a further dip in the sales in the days to come.