500cc+ motorcycles sales almost halved at a rate of 48.52% YoY over December 2021 with just 1,372 units sold last month
Royal Enfield 650 Twins, Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 usually register positive growth in both YoY and MoM analysis. Since November 2022, 650 Twins have lost market on a large scale. This might be due to the wait for Super Meteor 650 launch or the fact that people tend to not buy vehicles at the end of a year and hold on for a fresh year.
Either way, the fact that Royal Enfield has halved its numbers from 2021 at 51.06%, stands tall. With just 1,126 650 Twins sold in December 2022 over 2,301 units sold last year, RE lost 1,175 units in volume. Despite that, RE 650 Twins still have over 82% of 500cc+ motorcycles market share.
Top 10 500cc+ Motorcycles Dec 2022
The most affordable motorcycle in the 200 bhp club, Kawasaki ZX-10R, climbed up the ladder and secured 2nd spot with 33 units sold. With just 10 units to beat, there was 230% YoY growth. Despite being the most affordable 4-cylinder motorcycle in India, Kawasaki Z900 sold just 30 units and saw a decline of 11.76% as opposed to 34 units sold a year ago.
Arch-rivals Tiger 660 Sport and Versys Sport sold 19 and 18 units respectively and took 4th and 5th spot on this list. Versys 650’s growth was 500% YoY. At 6th, 7th and 8th spots we have Triumph Trident 660, Kawasaki Ninja 650 and Triumph Speed Twin respectively. They sold 16, 14 and 13 units in December 2022. There was no positive growth to show.
Triumph’s Tiger 900 and Bonneville T120 sold 10 units each. But it was the T120 that showed a growth of 400%, whereas the Tiger 900 saw a decline of 70.59% and lost 24 units in volume. From Harley-Davidson, we have Sportster S and Pan America at 11th and 12th spots selling 9 and 8 units respectively. Sportster S maintained sales, while Pan America showed 700% YoY growth as opposed to just 1 unit sold last year.
Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX and Suzuki Hayabusa both sold 8 units each and fell into the red. Triumph Street Twin sold just 7 units and saw sales drop by 22.22%. Kawasaki Z650, Harley-Davidson Fat Bob and Fat Boy 114 sold 5 units each. Z650 and Fat Boy 114 maintained neutrality, Fat Bob lost 1 unit in volume and saw a decline of 16.67% YoY.
Bikes With Sub 5 Unit Sales
In India, more than half of the big bike sales didn’t reach 5 units per month in December 2022. Kawasaki Vulcan S, Versys 1000 and Triumph Tiger 1200 managed to sell just 4 units each. Versys 1000 maintained neutrality, and Vulcan S dropped by 63.64% YoY. Harley-Davidson Nightster, Triumph Bonneville Bobber and Rocket III sold 3 units each.
Only Bonneville Bobber showed a positive growth of 200% YoY, while the rest didn’t. Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster sold just 2 units and halved its sales from 4 units in 2021. There are 5 motorcycles selling just 1 unit in December 2022 and none of them showed any positive growth. They are Kawasaki W800, Z650 RS, Triumph Street Triple, Aprilia RSV4 and Harley-Davidson Street Glide.
Speaking of bikes that sold zilch, there are a lot. Low Rider Special, Low Rider, 883 Iron, and Forty-Eight from Harley-Davidson, Street Twin, Street Scrambler and Bonneville T100 from Triumph, Suzuki V-Strom 650, and lastly, CBR650R and Goldwing from Honda. In total, 500cc+ motorcycles sales accounted for 1,372 units and almost halved as opposed to 2,665 units sold in December 2021 and lost 48.52% sales YoY and 1,293 units in volume YoY.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
