The motorcycle sales figures reported Thursday by the two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto indicate that the month of March saw a 14.40 percent drop - from the earlier-year figures of 1,54,443 units to 1,32,210 units. Nonetheless, the drop in March motorcycle sales happens to be lower than the December levels, when the company sold merely 61,546 units.

In the two-wheelers category on the whole, the sales dipped from March 2008 figures of 155,504 units to 132,640 units, marking a 15 percent drop. The total vehicle sales for Bajaj Auto for March dropped 12.59 percent - from 1,76,280 units in the year-before to 1,54,093 units; with exports plunging by 8.15 percent.

According to a company statement, even the annual sales of Bajaj Auto's two and three wheelers plunged 13 per cent, falling from 176,280 units in the year ago month to
154,093 units.

Two-wheeler sales figures for the financial year 2008-09 also indicate a fall for Bajaj Auto - 11.18 percent drop implying 19,19,582 units as against 21,61,095 units in the previous fiscal.

However, Bajaj Auto is quite hopeful for a turnaround for the better. The company stated: "Bajaj expects stronger growth in the first quarter of FY'10 powered by the continuing success of the XCD 135 DTS-Si as also the launch of product upgrades off the Pulsar platform!"