Two-Wheeler Retail Sales Fall 28.35% To 23.21 Lakh In October: FADA

Two-wheeler retail sales in India fell 28.35 percent year on year to 23,21,419 units in October 2026, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Volumes were up 29.67 percent from September, when dealers retailed 17,90,188 two-wheelers. In October 2025, retails stood at 32,39,949 units. FADA described this year’s October as the second-best on record for the segment.

FADA attributed the year-on-year fall to the festive calendar. October 2025 carried both Navratri and Diwali, along with pent-up demand released after the GST 2.0 rate cuts of September 22, 2025.

This year Navratri fell in October, while Dhanteras (November 6) and Diwali (November 8) have moved into November.

Two-wheelers made up about 73 percent of the 31,72,466 vehicles retailed across categories in the month.

Rural Markets Take The Sharper Hit

The decline was steeper in rural areas, which are more dependent on Diwali buying. Rural two-wheeler registrations fell 33.97 percent YoY, against a 20.77 percent drop in urban markets. Month on month, rural retail rose 31.00 percent and urban retail 28.21 percent.

Rural markets still accounted for the larger share of two-wheeler retail at 52.9 percent, with urban at 47.1 percent. Rural share was 52.4 percent in September.

Dealers reported healthy festive footfalls but flagged localised rural stress in areas hit by deficient rains and a weak kharif crop. They also pointed to the fading of last year’s GST price advantage after subsequent manufacturer price increases.

On a Navratri-period comparison, which FADA says gives a cleaner read, two-wheeler retails of 8,40,696 units were down 2.02 percent from 8,58,027 units in Navratri 2025. They were up 33.46 percent over Navratri 2024.

FADA also cited independent festive-window tracking showing two-wheeler registrations growing on a like-for-like basis. For FY2027 so far (April-October), two-wheeler retails are up 7.81 percent at 1,33,79,362 units.

EV Share Rises From A Year Ago

Electric two-wheelers accounted for 9.65 percent of two-wheeler retail in October, up from 4.66 percent a year earlier but down from 11.58 percent in September. Petrol/ethanol vehicles held a 90.30 percent share, against 95.22 percent in October 2025, while CNG/LPG accounted for 0.05 percent.

Based on FADA’s share figures, electric two-wheeler volumes work out to roughly 2.24 lakh units in October, up from about 2.07 lakh in September. The share dipped because petrol two-wheeler volumes rose faster over the month.

During Navratri, electric two-wheeler retails rose 34.74 percent YoY to 76,515 units.

Honda Edges Past Hero

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India led the market with 6,37,630 units and a 27.47 percent share, up from 26.26 percent in October 2025. Retails fell 25.06 percent YoY. Hero MotoCorp followed with 5,98,433 units and a 25.78 percent share. Its volumes dropped 40.56 percent from 10,06,796 units a year earlier, when it led Honda by about 1.56 lakh units. Hero’s share fell from 31.07 percent.

TVS Motor Company retailed 4,58,303 units (down 19.92 percent), lifting its share to 19.74 percent from 17.67 percent. Bajaj Auto recorded 2,09,634 units (down 37.46 percent) and a 9.03 percent share, from 10.35 percent a year ago.

Royal Enfield retailed 1,23,982 units for a 5.34 percent share, followed by Suzuki Motorcycle India at 1,20,931 units (5.21 percent) and India Yamaha Motor at 79,001 units (3.40 percent).

Among the electric-focused players, Ather Energy recorded 31,833 units and a 1.37 percent share, up from 0.93 percent. Ola Electric retailed 12,098 units, down about 26 percent YoY, with a 0.52 percent share. Greaves Electric Mobility recorded 10,839 units (up about 40 percent), River Mobility 6,817 units (up nearly 274 percent) and BGauss 5,556 units (up about 81 percent).

Outlook For November

FADA expects the Dhanteras-to-Diwali wave to bring back the rural and two-wheeler demand the calendar pushed out of October. Dealers in the Northern markets, among the weakest on October’s YoY numbers, reported the firmest expectations for November.

Across categories, 51.65 percent of surveyed dealers expect growth in November, 34.71 percent expect a flat market and 13.64 percent expect de-growth. For November-January, 50.41 percent expect growth, 40.08 percent flat and 9.50 percent de-growth.

Two-wheeler dealers were the most cautious of all segments for the three-month period, citing rural cash flows, the progress of paddy procurement from November, and the lingering effect of higher EMIs.

FADA noted the first repo-rate increase in over three years, with about 31 percent of dealers reporting a moderate or material effect on financing costs. Dealers also flagged a possible post-festive lull once the Diwali peak passes, along with supply and model-availability gaps.

Overall dealer sentiment for November and the next three months is “cautiously optimistic”. FADA said the real verdict on demand will come from November’s Diwali numbers rather than October’s base-distorted ones