Amidst the ongoing global geopolitical turbulence, India continues to be a buoyant market in the form of automobile sales. With just 10 days left for the current fiscal year to come to a close, the world’s third largest automotive market is set to register a new high in FY2026 of over 27 million vehicles comprising the two- and three-wheeler, passenger and commercial vehicle segments. This will mean India Auto Inc will surpass FY2019’s record factory dispatches of 26.26 million units. Powering this growth is the largest volume segment – two-wheelers. 

As per SIAM wholesales data for the first 11 months of FY2026, India 2-Wheeler Inc has clocked wholesales of 19.72 million units (1,97,29,846) which marks 10% YoY growth (April 2024-February 2025: 17.95 million 2Ws). This total is 1.45 units million shy of the record 21.17 million 2Ws sold in FY2019. Considering 2W OEMs have averaged monthly sales of nearly 1.9 million units in January-February 2026, expect this gap to be easily bridged and surpassed in March, the closing month of FY2026. One can expect total 2W wholesales in FY2026 to be in the region of 21.72 million units. 

With 19.72 million units sold in the first 11 months of FY2026, 2W sales are 1.45 million units away from FY2019’s 21.17 million. With growing demand for EVs, the scooter share has risen strongly. 

GST 2.0 THE MARKET MOVER IN H2 FY2026

If the Indian two-wheeler industry, which comprises motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, is in good nick after the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, it’s thanks to GST 2.0 which kicked in from end-September 2025. 

The 2W industry has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the revised GST which has made this vehicle segment more affordable, particularly entry-level and commuter models. The rate cut from 28% to 18% for up to 350cc models covers nearly 97% of the motorcycle and scooter models in India. While electric 2Ws did not see any reduction in their 5% GST, above 350cc 2Ws (mainly motorcycles) saw a GST hike to 40% from 28 percent. 

While the first 6 months of FY2026 saw sale of 10.23 million 2Ws, GST 2.0-fueled sales from October 2025 to February 2026 have jumped 22% to 9.49 million units with March sales still to be counted. 

The growth accelerator for overall 2W sales has clearly been GST 2.0. This is amply seen when the segment’s H1 FY2026 (April-September 2025) and first five months of H2 FY2026 (October 2025-February 2026) are compared. 

In first-half FY2026, 10.23 million 2Ws were dispatched to dealers across the country and made for near-flat growth (+0.7% YoY). In the last five months FY2026, thanks to GST 2.0, total wholesales at 9.49 million units are up by a robust 22% YoY (October 2024-February 2025: 77,85,413 units). This essentially has helped India 2W Inc achieve the 10% YoY growth for the first 11 months of FY2026. 

EVs (964,747 units), which account for a 13% share of the 7.35 million scooters sold in the first 11 months of FY2026, helped the scooter share of the 2W market rise to 37% from 32% in FY2019. 

EVs HELP SCOOTER SHARE RISE TO 37%, MOTORCYCLE SHARE DROPS TO 60% 

The growing demand for scooters – both ICE and electric – has been one of the key factors for the strong growth in the 2W market. As accurately forecast six months ago in October 2025 in Autocar Professional, domestic market scooter wholesales have surpassed 7 million units for the first time in fiscal in 2026, and with one month (March 2026) still to be counted. 

At 73,56,523 units (7.35 million units) in the first 11 months of FY2026, scooter sales have gone past their previous best of 6.85 million units in FY2025 and are could even close the current fiscal with record dispatches of 8 million units. 

While the scooter market has recorded 17.4% YoY growth, motorcycles (11.89 million units) have witnessed a 6.1% YoY increase, improving upon their tepid growth in H1 FY2026. The scooter segment’s rapid growth is reflected in its growing share in the overall 2W pie in FY2026 YTD compared to motorcycles which has dropped. 

In the FY2019 vs FY2026 (11 months) comparison, the scooter share has increased to 37% from 32% seven years ago, while that of motorcycles has fallen to 60% from 64% in FY2019. Meanwhile, the share of the humble moped has halved to 2% from 4% in FY2019 when it had clocked record sales of 880,227 units versus 477,048 units in FY2026 YTD.

What has also helped scooter OEMs is the growing demand for two-wheeled EVs. Compared to FY2019, when e-2Ws had little of a presence in India, FY2026 has already witnessed record retails (customer deliveries) of over 1.3 million units (as of March 20).

As per SIAM wholesales data for its member companies, seven e2W OEMs (TVS, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy, Hero MotoCorp, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha) has clocked wholesales of 964,747 e-scooters in the past 11 months and account for a 13% share of the 7.35 million scooters (ICE and EV) sold in FY2026 YTD.

In comparison, the motorcycle segment has very little or no legacy OEM presence in EVs and is currently led by start-ups including Revolt Motors, Ola Electric and Ultraviolette. 

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