Can two-wheelers stay on the pedal in 2025?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. At first glance, a 54% month-on-month drop in sales is alarming in a sector targeting individual consumers. But, seen in totality, marked drop-offs in December are par for the course for the Indian two-wheeler sector.
November tends to be the sector’s best month. Sales spike because of the festive season, and then it is about a reversion to the mean. This time around, November was exceptional, giving the sector reasons to feel good—but also some to be circumspect about for 2025.
In calendar 2024, about 18.9 million new two-wheelers were registered, shows government data. That makes it first year the sector registered more two-wheelers than the 18.65 million units in 2019, the last year before the onset of the covid-19 pandemic and its considerable cascading effects. While four-wheelers managed that overhaul in 2021 itself, the claw back for two-wheelers has been staggered.
Now, there’s a new baseline. November 2024 was the best month for two-wheelers in the six-year period between 2019 and 2024. About 2.62 million two-wheelers were registered, which was 16% higher than the next-best month, in November 2023.
That spike is partly the reason why the November to December drop off, which was 36-39% in 2022 and 2023, rose to 54% in 2024—the highest in the last six years. Each of the top 10 two-wheeler companies in the last saw a drop off in December, ranging from 19% (Ather) to 64% (Hero MotoCorp). Will the sector see a usual reversion to mean and build on its 2024 gains? Also Read: 2025 will be the year of EVs for India, say automakers at Bharat Mobility Expo The sector needs to press all levers it can to sustain the 10-12% annual growth of the last three years.
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