[dicor]

My sister is in process of buying Jupiter / Activa. When she told me the price 84000, it sounded like she dropped a bombshell.

Few years ago I had bought TVS Jupiter at 52000 on road.

When I started searching bikes on bikewale site, I saw all 2 wheelers are ridiculously priced. Even the poor man's TVS XL Super is whopping Rs 54000 now.

[Fury]

Over a shorter time span, I bought my FZ25 in 2018 for 1.5 lakhs on road Bangalore. Today, the BS6 model with dual channel ABS and a projector led headlight costs almost 2 lakhs on road. Keep in mind that mechanically its 95% the same bike as the 2018 model (FZ25 was already fuel injected before BS6). So the BS6 transition and the mandatory ABS rule has definitely brought in a much sharper increase than normal. I am not complaining though since both the changes are for the good but unfortunately this hike came at a time when more and more people are forced to move towards personal transport over and above the difficult financial times.

[NiInJa]

Originally Posted by Fury

Over a shorter time span, I bought my FZ25 in 2018 for 1.5 lakhs on road Bangalore. Today, the BS6 model with dual channel ABS and a projector led headlight costs almost 2 lakhs on road.

True, I literally forced my dad to get the BS4 Jupiter instead of waiting for some more time to upgrade. My brother did the same and got a bike just few months before BS6. Both are happy to have saved a few thousands, as FI or Carburetor dont matter to them.

All points regarding inflation are valid, but its just the psychological barrier that one has to pay a lakh rupees for a decent commuter bike, which does not have any kind of aspirational value. Just to elaborate, freshers starting job in IT still start with 3.25 avg salary, it was the same in 2009, but one could get a Pulsar 150 at about 75k on road Pune, todays freshers will have to settle for a Pulsar 125 with some more money.

[sarav100]

I recently brought Hero Pleasure Plus for 75k OTR Amritsar.

Is the price justified ?
Yes, considering the vast improvement in the vehicle itself ranging from fuel injection system, sensor based throttling, improved paint quality (we brought it in red colour in matt finish which looks cool). The earlier BS4 model was about 55-60k OTR but I feel a premium of 15 k for BS6 model over BS4 model is worth it.

On a side note, the prices have been hiked by about 2k in succession recently after we brought it.

[PrasannaDhana]

I bought my current gen RC390 in 2018 for 2.7 lakhs on road. Now it costs 3 lakhs on road, without any updates whatsoever.

Indeed, motorcycle prices have gone up!

[amoghk98]

My brother (who also happens to be a BHPian) had bought a brand new Yamaha FZ back in 2012 for Rs. 82,000. Today, for the same price, you will get a Honda Activa.

No denying that the new BS6 norms have warranted for technological changes in automobiles, but IMHO it still doesn't justify the steep incline in on-road prices.

In bikes, there have been significant changes in models, hence a price hike is justified. For mopeds? Not at all. Still feels difficult to digest that a Vespa costs almost a lakh!

[srinath34]

Really flabbergasting to see the prices sky-rocketing like this especially for something that has just 2 wheels.

I bought my pre-owned P220 in 2011 for 60k INR which was a fair deal then as I did not want to spend 20-25k INR more on a new one then. But the same P220 in BS6 avatar is 1.55L INR for basically the same bike with a catalytic converter, belly pan, new console, Fi, Always-On headlight and ABS. Almost 1.7x times

If I am in the market to exchange for a higher cc/better bike, I easily have to cough up minimum 2.2L INR extra for a mere 30cc bump (say KTM Duke 250 for example, on road BLR is 2.58L INR). Not a small amount in any means!

Insurance premium reduction (already in place) and the proposed GST reduction from 28% to 18% could reduce the prices but manufacturers are waiting to offset this in the name of manufacturing cost increases and COVID recovery charges!!

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by amoghk98

For mopeds? Not at all. Still feels difficult to digest that a Vespa costs almost a lakh!

Vespa Elegante 150 is selling for 1.55 L on road Delhi. This is bikewale.com price info, I am sure showroom will put it above 1.6 L. Not an exact comparison, but Thunderbird 350 was selling around 1.6 L in 2016.

[tacho]

I paid 62k for my Pulsar 180 in September 2002, and a rupee then is now worth 3.25 rupees per the inflation calculator someone else posted.

So it should be about 2.01 lakhs now, but the 180F only costs 1.33 lakhs on road in Hyderabad! This is despite the addition of alloys, rear disc, fairing and 1.6 horsepower. Shame on me to have let Bajaj commit daylight robbery 18 years ago!

[Gansan]

I will go by the still popular commuter - Splendor. I find the on road price now is around 60k, which is not too high. I don't know what the pre BS Vi price was.
I bought mine in February 2000 for 49k on the road. Even in 2015 the price was more or less the same, but the parts life of new bikes had come down by 50%. So that is where the money came from to maintain the price. Just like Maruti Alto. But that route can't be taken forever, and prices will have to be hiked at some point.

Value for money in commuter segment is still Hero Motors offerings. Even considering the Honda Shine is 125 cc, 90k is too high a price. The 125 cc Super Splendor seems to sell for about 20k less and will be a better option.

Presently a lot of people are buying two wheelers or used cars to avoid public transport. That may also be contributing to price hike by some brands.

[darkLightning]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I bought mine in February 2000 for 49k on the road.

I bought my Splendor Plus BS II for 58k on road in 2010 (Kick Start Drum brake Allow wheel), same variant used to cost I think around 55k ex-showroom for BS IV and now costs 60k ex-showroom for BS IV

Considering that Splendor's chassis hasn't really changed much in at least 2 decades the prices could come down to

2000's - 40-45k ex-showroom
2010's - 50-55k ex-showroom
2020 - 60k ex-showroom (Fi + ABS + BS6)

As I said in my previous post some bikes like Splendor can justify their BS6 hikes or even the price hikes over such long period of time, in case of Splendor the profit margin comes from the sheer number of sales it has.

Some two wheelers on the other hand cannot justify their price hikes.

[vigneshnr]

Lots of reasoning and logic have been discussed here. Many of them seem to be thoughtful & apt. But I feel the major factor of cost increase is policy led which is government induced in this sector.

- In the recent past, there are many norms mandated by government
- From 2018, 5 years insurance during the purchase of two-wheeler. A steep increase.
- Safety norms - ABS, CBS, All-time-headlamp ON (need for this in India is debatable). Even smaller items like additional reflectors & like.
- BS3 to BS4 and very quickly to BS6

Too many changes too soon which definitely affects the affordability of middle income groups

The increase in two wheeler price seems very high because the base value is low. Eg. 10k over 50k is 20%, which is felt higher. But FI, ABS, CBS all add up.

And these absolute cost increase has been induced greatly by policies as well. And hence in low end of the market, we don't really see much of feature additions as it would make the costs further go north.


- 28% is the tax rate for bikes. There is no differentiated tax slab in two-wheelers - like cars have differentiation based on length(sud 4m), ex-showroom value etc.
Though majority of the users buy for essential transport, they pay the same % as the high end / premium bikes.

And while buying, the finance is not cheap for two-wheelers. Unlike cars where the PSUs participate and also reducing balance method is prevalent - In bikes, the rates are high and generally PSUs participation is very low.

At least for the entry level bikes - say, below 150cc, the tax rate & finance rate can be softened by the government .

Any views ?



https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...-good/1130732/

https://www.mintpro.in/mr/articles/l...-your-clients/

[arijit_chat2006]

When I purchased the Yamaha Ray in 2013, within a month of its launch, I paid ~53k on road.
Activa 110cc was quoted to be ~56k at that time.

When I came across this thread, I went and checked the price of the Activa 6G (again 110cc), and Bikewale is quoting INR 85552 OTR Bangalore (I'm sure there'll be an additional ~3-5k for essential accessories).
I went

I could not check/compare the prices of the Ray since the 110cc model has been discontinued, and only the Ray ZR (125cc) is on sale now, and it will not be fair comparing the price of the 110cc model with that of the 125cc model.