Indicative of the growing importance of EVs, the TVS iQube and the Bajaj Chetak take sixth and seventh rank respectively in the best-selling scooters list, which accounts for 31% of the 15 million scooters sold in the first nine months of FY2025. At the very top are the longstanding triumvirate – Honda Activa, TVS Jupiter and the Suzuki Access – and 7 of the 8 ICE scooters are also 125cc models.
29 Jan 2025 | 4986 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
If the Indian two-wheeler industry has clocked total wholesales of 15 million units (up 11.6% YoY) in April-December 2024, it’s thanks to the democratised growth across the scooter (5.20 million units, up 19% YoY), motorcycles (9.44 million units, up 8% YoY) and moped (391,188 units, up 9% YoY) sub-segments.
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If the Indian two-wheeler industry has clocked total wholesales of 15 million units (up 11.6% YoY) in April-December 2024, it’s thanks to the democratised growth across the scooter (5.20 million units, up 19% YoY), motorcycles (9.44 million units, up 8% YoY) and moped (391,188 units, up 9% YoY) sub-segments.
Of the total industry’s sales in the first nine months of FY2025, the share of scooters with 1,50,39,570 units was 35% which is an improvement over the 32% share in April-December 2023 (43,69,839 scooters of 1,34,70,842 two-wheelers).
Making a difference to the overall numbers are the Top 10 best-selling models – at 46,51,718 units in April-December 2024, they accounted for 31% share of total scooter sales compared to 28% a year ago, selling an additional 793,934 units between them. And there are two popular electric scooters in the Top 10 – the TVS iQube and Bajaj Chetak.
Both zero-emission models, which have been benefiting from sustained demand in the domestic market, have registered strong double-digit growth in the current fiscal year. While the TVS iQube has sold 197,534 units, up 37% YoY (April-December 2023: 144,126 units) and ranked No. 6, Bajaj Auto has dispatched 188,765 Chetaks to its dealers across India, up 48% YoY (April-December 2023: 75,999 units) which gives it No. 7 rank.
While the TVS iQube has retained its year-ago sixth rank, the Bajaj Chetak has stormed into the Top 10, having being absent from the best-sellers table in April-December 2023. The two EVs’ combined wholesales at 386,299 units in the current fiscal makes for a 2.56% share of total scooter industry sales and 8.30% of the cumulative Top 10 scooters.
HONDA ACTIVA, TVS JUPITER, SUZUKI ACCESS GROWTH DRIVERS
There are no surprises at the top of the Top 10 table. The Honda Activa, India’s longstanding best-selling scooter sold in 110 and 125cc variants, clocked sales of 1.99 million units, up 15% YoY, and accounts for a 13% share of total scooter industry sales on its own!
There continues to be a yawning gap between the Honda Activa and the longstanding No. 2 – the TVS Jupiter, which also is available in 110 and 125cc guise. Though the Jupiter, with 790,028 units, has posted strong 26% YoY growth and has a 5% scooter market share, the gap with the Activa is a humungous 1.20 million units! In the current fiscal, the TVS Jupiter has gone past cumulative sales of 7 million units since its launch in September 2013. At the recent Auto Expo 2025 in New Delhi, TVS showcased the Jupiter CNG, the world’s first compressed natural gas-powered scooter.
The Suzuki Access 125, which is probably the best-selling 125cc scooter in India currently, has clocked wholesales of 547,470 units in April-December 2024, up 18% YoY, which gives it a 3.64% share of the Indian scooter market.
Having recognised the growth potential of the Indian EV market, both Honda and Suzuki are the latest legacy two-wheeler OEMs to plug into the electric business in India.
At No. 4 is the TVS NTorq 125 with 267,679 units, its YoY growth rather tepid at 6% and the lowest amongst the Top 10 scooters in the current fiscal. Demand for the NTorq, which is TVS’s first 125cc scooter, seems to be slowing down.
In comparison, the Honda Dio, available in 110 and 125cc avatars and ranked fifth, has done exceedingly well – the 263,479 units are a 33% YoY increase (April-December 2023: 198,188 units), which points to an additional 65,291 units sold compared to the NTorq’s 14,864 units. At present, the gap between the NTorq and Dio is just 4,200 units – will the Dio ride past the NTorq in the remaining three months of FY2025 to become the new No. 4?
The other Suzuki in this Top 10 – the 125cc Burgman – is ranked No 8 with 161,215 units, up by 27% YoY as a result of the additional 61,545 units dispatched to dealers.
The Yamaha Ray, also a 125cc model, rides in at No. 9 with 135,410 units, up 20% YoY. Wrapping up the Top 10 scooters list is the Hero Pleasure with 110,101 units, down 3.56% on year-ago dispatches of 114,173 units. The 111cc Hero Pleasure is also the sole ICE model to not have a 125cc variant.
The Top 10 scooters list also has a telling revelation. Seven of the eight IC engine, petrol-powered scooters are either a 125cc model or a sibling of a 110cc variant, which is indicative of the upward transition in the scooter market from the 100-110cc segment to 125cc.
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