India's Hero Honda March two-wheeler sales up 15 pct

MUMBAI, March 31 (Reuters) - Hero Honda Motors Ltd HROH.BO, India's top motorcycle maker, said on Monday it sold 320,594 two-wheelers in March, a jump of 15 percent over the same month in the previous year, when it sold 277,915 units.

Sales in March were helped by a cut in prices of all models by 1,000-2,400 rupees ($25-$60) after the federal budget proposed to cut excise duty on two-wheelers to 16 percent from 24 percent.

For the fiscal year to March 31, Hero Honda sold 3.34 million motorcycles and scooters, almost the same as in the previous year.

The sales, helped by new model launches, increased Hero Honda's marketshare in motorcycles to 52 percent, Managing Director Pawan Munjal said in a statement.

India's Hero Group and Japan's Honda Motor Co (7267.T) own 26 percent each in Hero Honda. ($1=40.0 rupees) (Reporting by Rina Chandran; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)