Royal Enfield has been dominating the 500cc+ motorcycle market with its flagship Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. Both of these bikes are powered by the same 648cc parallel-twin engine. Even though it isn’t exactly cheap in foreign markets, it is in India. Starting from Rs. 2.8 lakh, this 650cc platform is the bargain of the century for what it packs as a whole package. This is reflected in the sales figures as we take a deeper look.
With 1357 units sold in May 2022, Royal Enfield 650 twins (Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 combined) top the chart with 314.98% YoY growth over just 321 units sold in May 2021. 650 twins are the undisputed champions of this segment with 81.89% market share in May 2022. At second spot is the mighty Z900 from Kawasaki with 42 units sold in May 2022 with 600% YoY growth over just 6 units sold in May 2021 with a respectable 2.53% market share in May 2022.
Triumph Tiger 1200 and Kawasaki Ninja 650 weren’t on sale last year and in May 2022, they clocked 28 units and 21 units respectively with a market share of 1.69% and 1.27% respectively. The legendary Hayabusa from Suzuki sold 11 units in May 2021 and doubled in May 2022 with 100% YoY growth and 1.33% market share.
We have witnessed the rise in ADV popularity and it shows in the charts too. Honda Africa Twin, Kawasaki Versys 650 and Triumph Tiger 900 have registered a positive YoY growth of 375% with 19 units, 1200% with 13 units and 33.33% with 12 units sold in May 2022 respectively.
Sporty machines like Kawasaki’s ZX-10R, Ninja 1000 and Honda’s CBR650R have also clocked positive YoY growth of 25% with 15 units, 333.33% with 13 units and 38.46% with 18 units sold in May 2022 respectively. Coming to cruisers with positive YoY growth, we have Harley-Davidson Fat Boy 114 with 450% and Kawasaki Vulcan S with 150% YoY growth. Other cruisers like Triumph Street Twin, Harley-Davidson Fat Bob and Honda Gold Wing GL1800 weren’t on sale in 2021 and have clocked 12, 6 and 6 units in May 2022 respectively.
Motorcycles don’t always sell as manufacturers hoped. If we take a look at Harley-Davidson Low Rider, Low Rider S and Fat Boy 107, all of them have failed to sell a single model in May 2022. Now, coming to Harley-Davidson’s Iron 883, Road Glide and Softail Standard and Kawasaki’s W800 and Triumph’s Bonneville Bobber and Speed Triple, all of them have only sold one unit each in May 2022 with a massive dip in sales and contributing to only 0.06% of the market share each.
Now, coming to motorcycles like Kawasaki Z650RS, Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic and Triumph’s Street Triple, Street Scrambler and Bonneville Speedmaster, all of them have sold just 2 units each in May 2022 with vast dip in sales and contribute to around 0.12% of the market share each. Motorcycles like Kawasaki Z650, Triumph’s Street Twin, Bonneville T100 and Rocket 3 and Harley-Davidson’s Pan America and Street Glide have sold 3 units each with dip in sales and contributing to 0.18% of market share each in May 2022.
| No | 500cc+ Motorcycles Sales | May-22 | May-21 | Diff | Growth % YoY | % Share May 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 650 Twin | 1,357 | 327 | 1,030 | 314.98 | 81.89 |
| 2 | Z900 | 42 | 6 | 36 | 600.00 | 2.53 |
| 3 | Tiger 1200 | 28 | 0 | 28 | – | 1.69 |
| 4 | Hayabusa | 22 | 11 | 11 | 100.00 | 1.33 |
| 5 | Ninja650 | 21 | 0 | 21 | – | 1.27 |
| 6 | Africa Twin | 19 | 4 | 15 | 375.00 | 1.15 |
| 7 | CBR 650R | 18 | 13 | 5 | 38.46 | 1.09 |
| 8 | Ninja ZX-10R | 15 | 12 | 3 | 25.00 | 0.91 |
| 9 | Versys 650 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 1,200.00 | 0.78 |
| 10 | Ninja1000 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 333.33 | 0.78 |
| 11 | Tiger 900 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 33.33 | 0.72 |
| 12 | Speed Twin | 12 | 0 | 12 | – | 0.72 |
| 13 | Fat Boy 114 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 450.00 | 0.66 |
| 14 | Tiger 660 | 10 | 0 | 10 | – | 0.60 |
| 15 | Fat Bob | 6 | 0 | 6 | – | 0.36 |
| 16 | GL1800 | 6 | 0 | 6 | – | 0.36 |
| 17 | Vulcan S | 5 | 2 | 3 | 150.00 | 0.30 |
| 18 | Trident | 5 | 36 | -31 | -86.11 | 0.30 |
| 19 | DL650XA | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 0.24 |
| 20 | Boneville T120 | 4 | 19 | -15 | -78.95 | 0.24 |
| 21 | Z650 | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 0.18 |
| 22 | Street Twin | 3 | 11 | -8 | -72.73 | 0.18 |
| 23 | Boneville T100 | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 0.18 |
| 24 | Pan America | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 0.18 |
| 25 | Street Glide | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 0.18 |
| 26 | Rocket III | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.18 |
| 27 | Z650RS | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 0.12 |
| 28 | Street Triple | 2 | 18 | -16 | -88.89 | 0.12 |
| 29 | Street Scrambler | 2 | 3 | -1 | -33.33 | 0.12 |
| 30 | Boneville Speedmaster | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 0.12 |
| 31 | Heritage Classic | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 0.12 |
| 32 | W800 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 0.06 |
| 33 | 883 Iron | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 0.06 |
| 34 | Boneville Bobber | 1 | 3 | -2 | -66.67 | 0.06 |
| 35 | Speed Triple | 1 | 5 | -4 | -80.00 | 0.06 |
| 36 | Road Glide | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 0.06 |
| 37 | Standard | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 0.06 |
| 38 | Fat Boy 107 | 0 | 15 | -15 | -100.00 | 0.00 |
| 39 | Low Rider | 0 | 5 | -5 | -100.00 | 0.00 |
| 40 | Low Rider S | 0 | 1 | -1 | -100.00 | 0.00 |
| – | Total | 1,657 | 509 | 1,148 | 225.54 | 100.00 |
Triumph Bonneville T120 and Suzuki V-Strom 650XT have sold 4 units each contributing to 0.4% of the market share each in May 2022. Coming to the best (relatively) performer of all vehicles with negative YoY growth in May 2022 is Triumph Trident 660 with only 5 units sold in May 2022 over 36 units sold in May 2021. Newly launched Tiger 660 registered sales of 10 in May 2022.
Looking at the sales chart and analysing the YoY growth of 500cc+ motorcycles, we can see that the lower end of the price bracket of this category is still performing very well. It is at the expensive side of things, where numbers go down. Royal Enfield’s 650 Twins are the clear leader though with around 82% market share. Immediately after that is the Kawasaki Z900 and at Rs.8.86 lakh (ex-sh) it is the cheapest 4-cylinder engine-powered motorcycle currently on sale in India.