We list Suzuki Gixxer sales for the financial year 2022-23 and ask this very pertinent question – what’s hampering its numbers…?
Aside its high-selling Access and other scooters – that form over 95 percent of its yearly sales, Suzuki also sells Gixxers in two formats in India – the Gixxer 150 and Gixxer 250. Both these displacement models have naked and faired sports variants each.
I have ridden both – the 150cc and 250cc versions and in fact raced on the race-prepped Gixxer 250 as well and frankly it left me impressed to the core. The handling, the performance, the engine response – the overall engineering everything is top class.
With the current generation, Suzuki has also improved the styling of the motorcycle – and the faired model specially, with lower-set handlebars looks brilliant. The question, then, is – why doesn’t it sell…?
Just for reference, here are some numbers…
Suzuki Gixxer Sales – 2022-23
The complete 150cc motorcycle portfolio (that included the Intruder as well) sold a total of 12,254 units in FY 23 against 20,020 units in FY22. That is an average of just ~1000 units per month. Moving to the 250cc segment, only 5618 units were sold last financial year as compared to 2446 units in FY22 (including V-Strom).
If we add all of this up – Suzuki managed to sell only 17,872 motorcycles in the complete financial year 2023. Compare this with 7,12,509 scooters the company sold during the same period. That means out of the 7.30 Lac 2-wheelers the Jap sold in India, motorcycles contributed only about 2.5 percent! The question is – WHY?
Here are some possible answers –
Price – The Gixxers are not just costly – but are the costliest motorcycles specially in the potentially mass-selling 150cc segment (R15 platform aside!). And Suzuki has kept them this way since long. This must be one big reason why people keep a distance from these motorcycles. Just for reference, better priced 150-160s do more than Suzuki’s yearly numbers – in just one month!
Lack of Marketing – There have been few voices that say that Suzuki does not market its Gixxers in a proper way. It can, very well, project them as sportiest offerings in respective segments. It can, in fact, harp about Gixxer 250’s sporty intentions, bigger engine/power against the insane selling Yamaha R15 – which is priced at around a similar pedestal.
Funkier Color Options – The current Gixxers come with sober, muted color options – which do look good. But considering the competition and the expectations from bikers in today’s era, they can definitely make do with some funkier color options – colors that are brighter and well toned.
After listing the above three points, frankly, I am still not convinced and have no convincing answer to this question of – WHY? – Why aren’t these motorcycles doing good sales – because these are terrific bikes and deserve much higher numbers – specially when some not-as-good motorcycles are flying off the shelves.
After 11 Months How Many KATANAs Has Suzuki Sold?
What do you, as an end buyer, think can Suzuki do to push Gixxer’s sales…?
