For many riders, it can be easy to think the motorcycle world revolves around cruisers, ADV bikes, and whatever just dropped at EICMA. Sales numbers feel abstract. A “good year” is a few hundred thousand bikes, and anything under 500cc still gets framed as a "beginner bike." It’s a comfy bubble. And it's been the norm for decades in the US.
But for someone like me who was born and raised in Southeast Asia, where small bikes rule the streets, that bubble is very different. And if we zoom out one more level and look at India, the whole global picture snaps into focus.
Autocar India recently reported that India crossed 2 crore (with crore equating ten million) two-wheeler registrations in 2025. That translates to more than 20 million bikes and scooters in a single year.
