Last week, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) released sales numbers for FY2020 (April 2019-March 2020). Overall, sales across the sector have dropped considerably, but there are also models that have shown growth when compared to FY2019. A few of them lie towards the more expensive side of the pricing spectrum and to find out which ones were the most popular, we’ve compiled a list of the five bestselling motorcycles priced above Rs 2 lakh.
Note: The SIAM sales numbers indicate the wholesale numbers, which is the number of units sent from the manufacturer to the dealerships and not the number of units retailed. Also, certain manufacturers like Classic Legends, BMW and Ducati do not share their numbers with SIAM, and since this list is based on the latter’s data, the mentioned manufacturers have not been considered.
Royal Enfield 650 Twins – 20,188 units
Price: Rs 2.64 lakh onwards
With 20,188 units sold over the last 12 months, the Royal Enfield 650 Twins are at the top of the list by a considerable margin. Sales also went up by a massive 291 percent, when compared to FY2019 where the bikes sold 5,168 units. The Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 are also the manufacturer’s most popular exports, with 19,597 units (almost as much as domestic sales) being shipped to international markets in FY2020.
KTM 250 Duke – 6,709 units
Price: Rs 2 lakh
The 250 Duke was priced at Rs 1.97 lakh for the most part of FY2020, but it's BS6 update in January brought along a minor hike in price, taking it to Rs 2 lakh (ex-showroom) and, consequently, the second spot on this list. Sales have also gone up by 11.5 percent, compared to 6,019 units sold in FY2019.
KTM 390 Duke, RC 390 and 390 Adventure – 5,962 units
Price: Rs 2.48 lakh onwards
Unfortunately, KTM does not reveal how many particular units of each model – the 390 Duke, the RC 390 and the 390 Adventure – have been sold. This forces us to consider the combined total of the 390 platform at 5,962 units. While most of KTM’s range saw a drop in numbers, sales for the 390 range actually went up by a small amount, most likely due to the new 390 Adventure. In FY2020, KTM’s 390 platform’s sales grew by 1.2 percent, from the 5,891 units sold in FY2019.
Royal Enfield Classic 500 – 4,925 units
Price: Rs 2.04 lakh onwards
Although Royal Enfield has just discontinued its 500cc platform, the Classic 500 did sell enough over the last year to bag a spot on this list. This, despite a massive 74.4 percent decrease from the 19,282 units sold in FY2019.
TVS Apache RR 310 – 2,299 units
Price: Rs 2.40 lakh
When compared directly with its rival, the KTM RC 390, it is possible that the RR 310 may have fared a little better. However, with 2,299 units sold over the last 12 months, the TVS Apache RR 310 takes the final spot on the list of bestselling motorcycles priced over Rs 2 lakh. This is a bittersweet fact, considering that the bike sold nearly double in FY2019, with 4,525 units. More recently, the RR 310 also received its most substantial update yet, and you can click here to read our review on it. Hopefully, this update will help raise the RR’s numbers in FY2021.
Azaman Chothia
