EXCLUSIVE – Big Turnaround in 150-200cc Motorcycle Sales FY23

150-200cc Motorcycle Sales FY23 reveal some interesting positions and a massive change at the top of the order…

So, 150-200cc is the first segment that most bikers think of upgrading to when they want to get over the commuters of the 100-125cc segment. The 150-200cc segment offers a good mix of sportiness, comfort and fuel economy. And then we have bikes pleasing all genres – ADVs to streetfighters to faired sports, etc.

Answering the question – ‘Which manufacturer sells the most motorcycles in this segment?” is probably easy and almost everybody knows that it is Bajaj Auto with its Pulsars that rules this segment. But who comes second? TVS? Wrong!

There has been a big turnaround in this segment in the last financial year sales for the second and third place. Nobody noticed it and here is BikeAdvice bringing this exclusive to you…

Here are 2021-2022 standings with sales numbers…

FY22 Motorcycle Sales 150-200cc Segment

So, as you can see, Suzuki was the last placed manufacturer, followed by Hero MotoCorp – which, otherwise sells truckloads of motorcycles (but primarily in the 100-125cc segment). Honda could sell more than double of Hero, but look at that – there is a massive gap in the last three and first three.

Yamaha was inching closer to that 3 Lakh unit mark. But notice the top two positions – TVS was just a whisker away from snatching the top spot from Bajaj!

So, how have things shaped up in the last full financial year – 2022-23? With a massive premium push, was Hero able to bridge its gap with arch-rival Honda? Was Yamaha able to breach that 3 Lakh unit mark? And more importantly, was TVS, with its Ronin and Apaches, able to pass through Bajaj to claim the pole position? Here are the numbers…

150-200cc Motorcycle Sales – FY2022-23

The bottom three positions remained as is, however, instead of growth, Suzuki fell to almost half of its already dismal sales! It is the only maker in this list to have received a major decline. Hero MotoCorp was stuck in that under 70,000 unit zone with very marginal growth. With a big swing Honda passed that 2 Lakh unit mark and sold three times more motorcycles than Hero.

And here are the top three makers – with a big turnaround in the list!

TVS did see some improvement in its uptake, however, look at Yamaha – it just zoomed past, selling almost 1.15 Lakh units more than its previous fiscal’s numbers. It pushed TVS to the third spot and registered the biggest upsurge in sales in percentage terms among all the makers. It should be noted that Yamaha did that with only its 150ccs that it sells – the FZs and the R15, MTs – it does not have any 180, 200 in the line-up!

Bajaj also did remarkably well to witness a growth of over 1 Lakh units as compared to its previous year’s tally. With 4.27 Lakh units it registered an average of about 35,000 units every month. Being the only maker to cross that 4 Lakh mark, Bajaj now sits pretty with a sizeable lead in the premium segment.

EXCLUSIVE: Bajaj is the New Number 2 in 125cc Motorcycle Sales; Hero Drops Further!

Here are certain pointers that we are keen to understand for this year..

• With lacklustre performance to its new-gen Pulsars, will Bajaj be able to maintain its lead?
• Will Suzuki wake up and start addressing the issues in its sales numbers? They have pretty good motorcycles – adding 1-2 may help – but more importantly, they have to be priced better and marketing also needs a complete overhaul? Do you see the JAP doing any good this year?
• With a major push towards premiumisation, and comprehensive updates to its complete line-up, will Hero be able to cross that 1 Lakh unit mark this year?

• Does Honda have an ace up its sleeve to catapult sales?
• Have things peaked out for Yamaha or can it do even better with its 150s?
• And lastly, what will TVS do to regain its second position in the market?

All of this is okay, but what will happen if we bring Royal Enfield in contention? Answer coming up very soon. Stay tuned..

Note – We have included the 148-149cc motorcycles in this list.