Hero and Honda engaged in close battle in January 2026 bike and scooter sales – Introduction

2026 has gotten off to a great start for the Indian two-wheeler industry and here are how the six big brands performed in the month gone by.

Hero: 5,20,208 units

Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest manufacturer of bikes and scooters just about managed to retain its usual top position in the market and reported an increase of 24.08 percent when compared to its numbers for December 2025 (4,19,243 units). Even in comparison to January of last year when Hero sold 4,12,378 units, the company reported a healthy 26.15 percent increment. With 37,633 units exported to overseas markets, the company’s global business rose too.

Recently, Hero partnered with French automotive supplier Valeo to develop radar assist systems for its two-wheelers.

Honda: 5,19,579 units

Trailing Hero very closely is Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) which reported an increase of 24.50 percent in comparison to its December 2025 sales figure of 3,92,306 units. HMSI also reported a good 29.94 percent increase when compared to its sales in January 2025 (4,02,977 units). With 54,832 units exported last month, Honda’s overseas business saw a small uptick as well.

HMSI has quite a lot planned with new bikes, scooters and EVs scheduled to hit the market in the coming year.

TVS: 3,83,262 units

Hosur-based TVS Motor Company is in its usual third place and reported an 16.01 percent increase last month when compared to its sales in December 2025 (3,30,362 units). TVS also reported robust 30.42 percent growth in comparison to its January 2025 sales of 2,93,860 units. However, the company’s exports saw a small drop from 1,30,709 units in December 2025 to a slightly lower 1,22,343 units exported in January. It bears mentioning that TVS – currently the electric two-wheeler market leader – doesn’t bundle the sales of its electric scooters – iQube, Orbiter and X – into the above numbers.

Recently, the company became the third largest two-wheeler OEM worldwide in terms of sales usurping Yamaha’s spot in the process.

Bajaj: 2,14,727 units

Bajaj Auto is in its routine fourth place and has reported a huge 62.39 percent increase last month when compared to its December 2025 sales (1,32,228 units). The Chakan-based company has also reported a 25.35 percent increase in comparison to its January 2025 sales of 1,71,299 units. It is worth mentioning that Bajaj bundles the sales of the Chetak electric scooter portfolio and sub-400cc KTM and Triumph models it manufactures and distributes in India into the above figure. Bajaj Auto is India’s largest exporter of two-wheelers with 1,91,568 units sent overseas last month, which is an increase over December’s 1,78,125 units.

Bajaj has a busy year planned ahead with as many as eight new bikes being launched by mid-2026 as well as a full generation change for the Classic Pulsar models right before the festive season.

Suzuki: 1,00,296 units

Suzuki Motorcycle India sold over 1 lakh units last month and reported a tiny 2.53 percent increase in doing so when compared to its sales for December 2025 (97,823 units). The company also reported an increase of 14.19 percent in comparison to its January 2025 sales figure of 87,834 units. The company exported 25,490 units in January 2026, representing an upward tick against the 21,087 units it sent overseas in December 2025.

Suzuki recently entered the electric two-wheeler space in India with the e-Access, its first-ever in-house developed electric scooter.

Royal Enfield: 93,781 units

Royal Enfield reported nearly flat sales in January 2026 – just a small 5 percent increase – in comparison to its December 2025 figure of 93,177 units. However, in comparison to its sales in January 2025 (81,052 units), RE reported a bigger 15.70 percent increase. The company exported 10,541 units last month, which was slightly higher than the 10,397 units it sold overseas in December 2025.

Recently, Royal Enfield updated the Goan Classic 350 with a slip/assist clutch similiar to other recently updated 350s and it continues the testing of its upcoming 750cc models overseas.