- War in West Asia has softened demand for entry-level motorcycles in India
- Motorcycle growth expected to slow from 20% to around 7-9% in FY27
- Supply chain issues and LPG shortages impacting motorcycle production and sales
The war in West Asia has hit demand for motorcycles, especially in the entry-level segment, in India, with consumer sentiment softening slightly, while at the same time giving a fillip to electric scooters, a senior official at Bajaj Auto said on Wednesday.
From over 20% growth witnessed in the fourth quarter of 2025-26, the motorcycle segment is now expected to grow at around 7% to 9%, Bajaj Auto Executive Director Rakesh Sharma told reporters in an earnings call.
"The motorcycle industry, which was growing at 20%, grew only by 9% in April and that is an indication," he said when asked about the indicators of slowdown.
There was a "point of inflection between March and April driven by all sorts of ramifications from the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East", he noted.
The crisis has "led to LPG shortages, supply chain disruptions, little bit of consumer sentiment softening and some retail price inflation".
He further said, "This is sort of slowing down the motorcycle category from the 20% plus growth it was experiencing in quarter four (FY26) to what we now think should be 7-9%." Stating that the industry noticed "a considerable slowdown" in April, he said it "will probably continue and the industry may perform at this level".
Due to the war in West Asia, he said, there was a chain of difficulties in terms of LPG shortage, manpower availability, and a lot of complexity in outbound logistics, particularly to overseas markets.
"The demand environment going forward (is) softening," Sharma said, adding "when the demand environment gets tough, the bottom half suffers a little bit more, and the top half sustains itself".
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However, for Bajaj Auto, he said, "The silver lining in this change is that the growth is continuing, largely from the top half, and in particular from the 150 cc plus segment, which is growing at and expected to grow at twice the rate." So it is very helpful that the trends indicate that the 150 cc plus, where Bajaj Auto is very strong, will continue to grow at twice the rate of industry, Sharma said.
Also, he said due to the West Asia crisis, "consumer sentiment is getting shaped in preference for electric scooters", adding Bajaj Auto, which saw a 40% growth in sales of its electric scooter Chetak in Q4, "continued to grow at 60%-plus in April, which is far outpacing ICE scooters".
Stating that "fuel prices not only drive inflation but they have a very big impact on consumer psyche", Sharma said the expectation of a hike in petrol prices is driving customers towards electric scooters.
"We have to see now going forward, what happens to the fuel prices in the country now. We feel that the industry, which was really rocking at about 20% or so, will get affected by this consumer sentiment," he added.
Moreover, due to rising commodity prices, many companies have raised vehicle prices.
"What this means is that the benefit of the GST rate cut has been reversed to the extent of almost 30-40%. The GST rate cut really uncorked demand, and now with the bike prices increasing, part of that reduction has got reversed," Sharma said, adding it would have an impact on the demand environment.
A lot depends on how inflation is managed by the government, he noted.
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