Two companies produce scooters in India.
In Barhana, India even if villagers cannot always afford the products they want, sales of everything from shampoo to motor scooters are increasing dramatically. Indian manufacturers say the newly tapped rural marketplace could rival urban buying power. An estimated 75 percent of India's 900 million people live in rural villages, and although they make fewer and less expensive purchases than the more affluent urban middle class, the sheer numbers of potential customers and their feverish embrace of consumerism are translating into mammoth sales.
Ten years ago, India's largest motor scooter manufacturer, Bajaj Auto, had 58 dealers nationwide. Today it has 350 dealerships, 70 percent of them in rural towns.
''My market is clearly the masses,'' said Arun Malhotra, northern regional marketing manager for Bajaj Auto, which sells its basic scooter model for about $630. ''Five years back, they were nowhere in the picture, but today that is where my market is. I cannot afford to forget them.''
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