Superbikes & imported motorcycles in India: 2021 sales report

The Kawasaki Z900 has been India's highest-selling premium motorcycle in 2021, closely followed by the Ninja 650.

BHPian CrAzY dRiVeR recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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 2021 Annual report and analysis of the premium two-wheeler market in India.

3680 premium motorcycles were sold in the year 2021. The market, though still down, saw a 21% recovery compared to 2020, with all the brands enjoying higher sales, except for Harley Davidson.

Note

• All data has been compiled from the data presented by Auto Punditz.
• 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 the data is not available.
• 2018 report can be seen here.
• 2019 report can be seen here.
• 2020 report can be seen here.

India's favourite premium bikes by sales volume

• Kawasaki Z900 is India's highest-selling premium motorcycle in 2021 with 577 units dispatched.
• Followed closely by another Kawasaki - the Ninja 650 with 318 units.
• Triumph gets 3rd place with their successful, all-new entry-level sport naked - the Trident Sport 660, which dispatched 295 units.
• Another massive success for Triumph this year - the Tiger 900 takes fourth place with 214 units.
• Suzuki retains a top spot with their all-time favourite hyperbike - the 3rd generation Hayabusa dispatching 196 units.

Manufacturer Market Share and Trends

• Harley's loss! Others have nicely increased their numbers YOY.
• Kawasaki emerges as the dominant player in 2021 with a 46% market share, gaining 42% more sales as compared to the previous year.
• Triumph registered maximum sales growth for 2021 - with a 30% market share and falling just 20 units short of their all-time best figures of 2016.
• Honda had their best year yet - backed by strong sales of the 650 twins. Ends up with a 7% market share.
• Suzuki did a lacklustre job of bringing in their BS6 portfolio - but nevertheless brought in the one bike that matters in the Indian context. The results speak for themselves! Ends the year with a 7% market share.
• Piaggio has entered the charts with a dispatch of 5 units since September 2021. However, due to very less data available, they have been excluded from the comparison charts above. Details of the dispatches can be seen in the main excel sheet at the end.

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. (Simple assumption of price * units have been taken for representational purposes).

Note: The leftmost product is 6.16L ex-showroom, whereas the rightmost product is 39.16L ex-showroom.

• Kawasaki Z900 is once again in first place with sheer numbers, selling 577 units of an 8.42L motorcycle.
• Suzuki Hayabusa comes second, selling 196 units of a motorcycle that retails at 16.42 lakhs.
• Triumph Tiger 900 range starts at 13.7 lakhs, much higher than last year's Tiger 800. However, with 214 units dispatched - the new generation comes in at 3rd place.
• Kawasaki ZX10R remains the only VFM litre-class superbike option, even with the recently facelifted model priced at 15.37 lakhs - dispatching 176 units.
• Triumph Rocket III gains massively from the loss of Harley Davidson - earning good money from Indians - 128 units of a cruiser with a base price of just under 20 lakhs.

Kawasaki

• Kawasaki gained 42% sales compared to 2020, and achieved a market share of 46% in 2021.
• The value-priced Z900 brings home the maximum numbers for Kawasaki - with 577 units.
• 650 range keeps up their good sales - Vulcan S with 129 units, Z650 with 65 units, Ninja 650 with 318 units and the Versys 650 with 123 units - brings 635 units altogether.
• Ninja 1000 sales are down compared to last year, possibly after the price increase on the facelifted SX version - but still brings in 182 units.
• Versys 1000 numbers are higher YOY in comparison - with 79 units as against 43 last year.
• ZX10R remains the VFM and popular litre-class superbike option - with dispatches of 176 units.

Triumph

• Excellent performance from Triumph in 2021 - with 30% market share, 70% gain YOY.
• Triumph gained massively from the introduction of competent new products.
• Tiger 900 brought in maximum money with 214 units dispatched, whereas the Trident 660 brought in maximum numbers for Triumph with 295 units dispatched.
• Rocket III gains significantly from HD's loss and breaks into triple digits with 128 units.
• Street Triple retains decent sales as well with 132 units.

Continue reading CrAzY dRiVeR's sales report for BHPian comments, insights and more information.