Indian Motorcycles Market started 2025 in low tone. In May sales declined again (-2.1%) with the Year to Date sales at 7.8 million (-3.6%). Honda overtakes Hero on top of the market, first time since the two companies divorced. But their battle is open.
Data reported for India regards wholesales and not – as for all the other countries – registrations. The perimeter of data covered includes motorcycles, moped, scooter, and ATV, both on ICE and electric engines. In addition, data includes the commercial three wheeler, very popular in the country.
Economic Outlook
India’s economy is forecast to expand 6.6% in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly.
Goldman Sachs Research expects the Indian economy to be relatively insulated against global shocks over the coming year — including tariffs levied by the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump. India’s GDP will keep growing strongly in the long term — but with a speed bump next year as government spending and credit growth slow, according to our economists’ forecast.
“The structural long-term growth story for India remains intact driven by favorable demographics and stable governance,” Santanu Sengupta, chief India economist at Goldman Sachs Research, writes in his team’s report.
Our economists expect India’s economy to grow at an average of 6.5% between 2025 and 2030. Their 6.3% forecast for 2025 is 40 basis points below a consensus of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
The decelerated growth rate is, in part, because public capital expenditure growth is declining. The Indian central government’s capex growth declined from 30% year-on-year CAGR between 2021 and 2024 to mid-single digits growth in nominal terms in 2025, according to budget estimates.
Motorcycles Industry Trend and Perspectives
In such positive environment, the two-wheeler industry keeps expanding with fast growing trend both for in the domestic and export market.
Domestic market, the largest worldwide, is in a great shape fueled by the growth of electric segment and even by the resilience of ICE models, confirming the key rule of the industry inside the Indian individual mobility, with ner 1.5 billion people living in a country still very poor of adequate transportation infrastructures.
Ending the year with a great December performance (1.57 million sales, +24.8%), the 22nd consecutive growing month, the Indian 2-wheeler market scored a memorable 2024, hitting the new all-time record and the highest level ever achieved by a single market, with 20.5 million sales (+16.6%). A very outstanding speed for the largest market in the world.
The start of 2025 was in line with the expectations, and the speed is much lower and probably somehow influenced by global economy uncertain.
The first quarter 2025 ended with 4.6 million sales (+0.9%) however standing at very high volume and keeping unchanged growing perspectives. In April sales declined sharply (-16.7% at 1.5 million) due to the fall reported by Hero, explained by a scheduled plant shutdown to special maintenance.
However, the market declined in May as well (-2.1%) and consequently the Year to Date sales are 7.8 million (-3.6%).
Although incentives to EVs models have been reduced and several EVs start ups are financially struggling, the EVs segment keeps growing (+8.8%) with high demand for models proposed by the Big 5 Indian companies.
Market Leaders and Performance
The big fact of this start of the year is that YTD May Honda was able to overtake Hero on top of the list, while reporting stable sales (-0.6%) and due to the rival fall (-12.6%).
In third place TVS Motor (+7.7%) has a wide gap over the follower, Bajaj Auto (-7.5%) and Suzuki (+7.0%) which in March scored the record month ever.
Behind Royal Enfield (+16.9%), which celebrated the record of over 1 million sales in the previous fiscal year, and Yamaha (-9.5%).
