After maintaining an iron grip on the scooter market with its bestseller Activa for over two decades, Japanese heavyweight Honda has struggled to keep pace with the growth in the segment, resulting in a sharp decline in its market share over the past few years.
From 52% in FY21, the share of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) in the scooter segment has come down to below 40%, the lowest in many years. By the end of September, its share stood at 39%, according to data shared by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
From 4.48 million units clocked in FY21, India’s domestic scooter market has grown to 6.85 million units by the end of FY25, a growth of 49%. HMSI’s volume growth during the same period has been much slower at 22% to 2.84 million in FY25 from 2.32 million clocked in FY21.
Unlike its peers, scooters form a significant part (nearly 47%) of HMSI’s domestic volume performance and any disruption to it has a bearing on its overall volume performance. Over one-third of India’s domestic two-wheeler market of 19.6 million as of FY25 end is controlled by scooters.
An email sent to HMSI went unanswered at the time of going to the press. While Honda has tried to build other scooter brands such as Dio, Aviator, Cliq and Grazia, the company remains dependent on Activa for volumes. Aviator, Grazia and Cliq have been discontinued due to poor demand.
HMSI’s market share loss has turned to gains for TVS Motor Company. Riding on brands like Jupiter, the Chennai-based firm ended the six months to September period with a scooter market share of nearly 30% compared with 20% recorded in FY21.
Japanese brand Suzuki, which has the brand Access in the scooter segment, crossed 1 million scooter sales for the first time in a year in FY25. From 11% clocked in FY21 end, Suzuki has grown its market share to 15% by the end of September.
Market watchers say that the reason behind the slide in Honda’s share is a surge in competition within the segment and Honda’s slower response to it. TVS, for instance, lent a heavy update to its bestseller Jupiter in August 2024, five months before Honda launched the Activa in January 2025, which carried a much milder update.
Both TVS and Suzuki now control 45% of the domestic market against 31% earlier. Motorcycle heavyweight Hero MotoCorp has also improved its position in the scooter segment, pushing its market share to 6.5% in the six months to September from 5% in the same period last year.