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-   -   2020 Annual Report Card - Superbikes & Imported Motorcycles (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superbikes-imports/232458-2020-annual-report-card-superbikes-imported-motorcycles.html)

The low volume market for Superbikes and Imports in the country doesn’t allow for a meaningful monthly analysis of their sales data. However, the same over a longer period of a full year makes for a healthy discussion - and with that goal in mind, below is the 2020 annual report and analysis of the premium two-wheeler market in India.

Note -

• All data has been compiled from the data presented by Auto Punditz.
• Data is missing for April and May, 2020. However, considering the lockdown, I guess we are not missing much there!
• These manufacturer-reported sales numbers are factory dispatches to dealerships. They are NOT retail sales figures to end customers.
• Manufacturers like BMW Motorrad, Ducati, Benelli etc are not included because data is not available.
• 2018 report can be seen here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...s-imports.html
• 2019 report can be seen here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...s-imports.html
• Click any picture to open a larger higher-resolution version in a new window/tab.

2879 premium motorcycles were sold in the year 2020. The market was down by 46% compared to 2019, with all brands except Triumph ending up with a YoY decline in sales.

2020 was a very turbulent year for the industry. BS6 transition, Corona lockdown induced delays etc played spoilsport and even market leaders like Harley Davidson decided to do a partial exit, handing over the company to Hero Motocorp. In such a market - aggressive players tend to capture more marketshare - and Kawasaki and Triumph did exactly that!

Manufacturer Market Share and Trends

• With Harley Davidson losing interest in the market - Kawasaki becomes the #1 player with 39% marketshare.
• Harley Davidson still comes second with 33%.
• Triumph is 3rd with 21%, not only way higher than last year - but also becoming the only player not to lose sales YoY. Harley's loss is surely Triumph's gain!
• Suzuki is at 5% market share, whereas Honda brings up the rear at 2%.
• Yamaha needs no mention!

• Overall numbers are significantly lower, especially thanks to Harley Davidson.
• Only Triumph registered growth in sales figures last year.
• Suzuki was significantly impacted by the discontinuation of the good old 'Busa!

Premium Motorcycle sales 2020 - Sorted by price.

The below graph gives a clear picture of which products have really caught the fascination of the market, at various price points.

Note - The leftmost product is 5.34L ex-showroom, whereas the rightmost product is 49.99L ex-showroom.

• 293 units of the Ninja 1000 stands out for its price - Suzuki's loss is Kawasaki's gain.
• 145 units of Harley Davidson Fatboy is still exception - given the price point. Remains to be seen if the same figures are maintained next year under Hero Motocorp.
• 91 units of the evergreen Suzuki Hayabusa even though it went out of production by March itself!
• Street 750, Street Twin, Ninja 650, Z900, Ninja 1000, Tiger 900 etc remain favourites in their respective price brackets.

Kawasaki

• Kawasaki lost 27% sales compared to 2019, but gained marketshare from 30% to 39% over the same period.
• Kawasaki podium standings have two inline4 players - with the Ninja 1000 bringing home 293 units, the maximum numbers for Kawasaki.
• Z900 at 257 units takes the second position.
• The entry-level 650 platform still brings in good numbers for Kawasaki with the Ninja 650 at 245 units, Versys 650 at 86, Vulcan S at 107 and Z650 at 94 units. 532 units overall.
• Versys 1000 brought in 43 units, whereas the ZX10R and 6R have lost out awaiting BS6 models.
• W800 is a big flop in the Kawasaki lineup. Sales haven't picked up despite a flat 1L drop in prices last year.

Triumph

• Triumph not only gains marketshare from 12% to 21%, but also gained numbers YoY - the only manufacturer to do so.
• Tiger 900 is off to a good start with 116 units.
• Street Twin sold 153 units in 2020 and is the best seller for the brand.
• Good figures for the newly introduced flagship - the Rocket III with 65 units.
• The newly introduced Street Triple R, along with the RS - brings in good numbers as well.

Suzuki

• Bringing up 4th place is Suzuki with 155 units sold in 2020.
• Suzuki lost 63% YoY - with just one BS6 motorcycle on sale.
• The good old 'Dhoom bike' was discontinued with the BS6 transition, but not before it brought home a decent 91 units.
• VStrom 650 sold 64 units - lesser than the ageing Versys 650, as Suzuki took their own sweet time bringing in the BS6 models.

Honda

• Taking the last position (ignoring Yamaha) in this list, once again, is Honda, with 2% of sales, despite Honda being the 2nd largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the country.
• Honda Africa Twin is widely regarded as a very capable adventure tourer - and has been their biggest seller for 2020, with 52 units.

.

Does Indian sell at all? While some manufacturers (listed above) aren't sharing data, always wondered about how much does Indian sell.

No information available from Autopunditz. No recent claims released to the press either, which some other companies like BMW Motorrad do!

Would have been interesting to see who gains from Harley's loss.

Harley's exit seems to be the single biggest factor in this segment's decline, pandemic notwithstanding. Will be interesting to see how Hero can regain customer trust (barring the old faithfuls upgrading their present Harley's, gaining new customers will be a challenge especially with the rise of RE's twin cylinder platform).

Honda and Suzuki really need to step up their offerings and beef up their portfolio. Honda has said they'll bring CBs from across the displacement spectrum, along with the entire 500 platform so should be interesting to see. As for Suzuki, the VStrom's pricing saw a ridiculous jump post-BS6. Sad to see a really competent product undone by its price, I'd go for a Versys 650 too if I was looking out for an entry-level parallel twin ADV.

Yamaha's India strategy is just plain strange. They don't seem to want volumes in the lower categories, nor do they want to build a halo brand. Might as well formally start service centres for RXs and RDs :D

For 2021, with limited BS6 options, let's se how the numbers pile up.

Cruisers - Arrive in style
Vulcan S
Bonneville Speedmaster
Rocket III
R18

Nakeds - entry point of big bikes
Retro
Scrambler Dark, Icon, 1100
Street Twin
Bonneville T100, T120
W800

Modern
Z650
Z900
Street Triple R/RS
F900R
R1250R
Speed Triple RS

Sports/Supersports - the Racing bikes :cool:
Ninja 650
Ninja 1000SX
Panigale V2

S1000RR
Fireblade

Adventutre Tourer - mile munchers
Versys 650
Versys 1000
F900XR
Tiger 850 Sports
Tiger 900 GT
S1000XR

Adventure - Go anywhere (as long as you can pick it up)
V-Strom 650XT
Tiger 900 Rally/Pro
Multistrada 950S
Africa Twin 1100/DCT
R1250GS/A

The obvious picks from each category and it shows in the sales figures also,
Street Twin
Bonneville T100, T120

Z900
Street Triple R/RS

Ninja 1000SX

Adventure and Adventure tourers are the talk of the town due to their versatile nature and our bad roads, pick any as per your budget or usage or wish :thumbs up One can't go wrong with these rugged machines!

*Harleys and other Italian exotics (Aprillia & Moto Guzzi) I've not included as riders buying those beauties don't look elsewhere!

Some of the offerings in big bikes are in their 2nd or 3rd generation making the previous gen available in the pre-owned scene. But we need more new bike sales for the ecosystem to flourish.

Cheers,
surjaonwheelz