2025 Recap: Major Milestones in the Two Wheeler Industry

The year saw record sales milestones, a long-awaited brand revival, a major acquisition and important policy changes. Here is a list of the important happenings in the two-wheeler industry in 2025:

Royal Enfield hits a historic million

Royal Enfield surpassed 1 million units in annual sales for the first time in the financial year ended March 31, 2025. The record sales of 1.09 million units were an 11 percent increase over the previous 12 months (FY2024). Exports also climbed to an all-time high of 1,07,143 units.

Norton comes back to life

Norton Motorcycles, which was acquired by TVS in 2020, will debut its all-new range of bikes across global markets, including Europe, the US, Asia and India in the first half of this year. Our market will play a significant role, and the company plans to retail the full line-up here as well. The models unveiled so far include the Manx, Manx R, Atlas and Atlas GT. Also, a new 450cc single-cylinder platform is expected to be showcased later in 2026.

GST on 350cc-plus motorcycles hiked

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council approved an increase in the tax on high-capacity motorcycles. The GST on two-wheelers above 350cc engine capacity was hiked to 40 percent; earlier, such vehicles attracted a 28 percent GST plus a 3 percent compensation cess. The new rates came into effect on September 22, 2025.

Bajaj acquires KTM

A big moment in the global motorcycle industry was Bajaj Auto taking full control of KTM. The Austrian brand faced months of crippling financial stress before Bajaj stepped in and completed the acquisition of KTM’s parent company with an investment of 800 million euros. The first steps post ownership change were to stabilise operations and restart production in Europe. So far, there have been no sweeping changes in the way KTM operates, but that is likely to change over time.

Ola’s fall from the top

Over the course of 2025, Ola Electric slipped from the top position in monthly sales to the fifth spot in recent months, now behind TVS, Bajaj, Ather and Vida. Multiple factors have contributed to this slide, with mounting customer complaints being one of the biggest. The company is pursuing multiple options, including a new Hyperservice campaign, as well as its own rare-earth-free motors and in-house 4680 Bharat Cell. 2026 will be a vital year for the Bengaluru-based start-up, and the next few months will reveal if these measures can help reverse its course.