India: Now the world's biggest market for 2-wheelers

India is now the world's biggest two-wheeler market in terms of cumulative sales. The country saw sales of 17.7 million two-wheelers in 2016, which exceeded China's sales figure of 16.8 million units. While China's two-wheeler market used to touch the 27 million unit sales mark in 2010, sales have declined rapidly in the country after motorcycles were banned in various major cities. Presence of cheaper China-made cars has also allowed two-wheeler customers to upgrade for four-wheels instead.

Meanwhile, in the Indian market, the need for personal mobility is increasing with every passing day. Moreover, a surge in the number of women customers in the two-wheeler segment has also helped in giving the market a sales push. Other market-friendly factors include congested urban conditions that make it idle for a motorcycle to cut travel times, as compared to a four-wheeler which is more likely to get stuck in traffic. These are the primary reasons for the market recording a constant increase in sales volume since the past several years. The Indian two-wheeler market continues to be dominated by the 100-110 cc commuter motorcycle segment, which recorded around 6.5 million sales during the last year, followed by gearless scooters that clocked sales of 5 million units.

The Indonesian market has been rated as the third largest two-wheeler industry, with annual sales of around 6 million units. This market has also seen a minor downward trend in sales, after the country recorded 6.5 million unit sales in 2015.

Source: TOI