The two-wheeler industry posted significant growth last year as more than 2 crore vehicles were registered in the Indian market
The two-wheeler industry in India posted YoY growth of around 7 percent with registrations surpassing the 2 crore mark in 2025. According to the data available at Vahan portal, a total of 2.02 crore two-wheelers were registered last year as compared to 1.89 crore units registered in 2024. This growth in sales volumes was spearheaded by scooters. In addition, several other prominent factors of this success story were strong rural demand, above-normal monsoons and the introduction of GST 2.0 in the Indian market.
The GST structure was rejigged in September 2025 by eliminating two existing tax slabs of 12 percent and 28 percent, and keeping it limited to just three categories of 5 percent, 18 percent and 40 percent. The two-wheelers were classified in three slabs: 5 percent for EVs, 18 percent for ICE-powered models with engine capacity below 350cc and 40 percent for all two-wheelers with engine above 350cc.
Before this GST overhaul, two-wheelers were taxed at 28 percent, regardless of engine capacity. Hence, due to this move, all the motorcycles and scooters with engine capacity below 350cc became cheaper than before while the ones with engines bigger than 350cc became highly expensive. This exercise was carried out ahead of the Diwali festive season and hence, the sales touched an all-time high during this period.
The scooter models played a substantial role in the growth of the two-wheeler industry with key brands such as TVS and Suzuki gaining in double digits. Needless to mention, these two brands have a wider scooter portfolio ranging from 100cc to 150cc in most of the popular segments. Royal Enfield was the only major brand to post YoY sales growth in each month starting from January to November.
It is being assumed that the annual sales of Royal Enfield in CY 2025 will surpass 1 million units. Also, the battle for supremacy between the two giants namely Hero MotoCorp and Honda also widened as the difference reached 8.51 lakh units in Jan-Nov 2025 period as compared to 6.89 lakh units in 2024. Hero continued to rule the roost with heavy backing from its commuter range of motorcycles.
While Hero focused more on strengthening its scooter portfolio and introduced multiple models in the 125cc-plus bike segment, Honda tried to make in-roads in the entry-level commuter motorcycle segment. The competition intensified during the mid 2025 when Honda came very close to dethrone Hero from the pole position, but Hero bounced back and continued its dominance.
