While European manufacturers such as BMW, Ducati, Triumph et al continues to announce their “record breaking” sales each year, it is still Honda who tops global sales in 2023; continuing their dominance for the last 50 years.
According to the Motorcycles Data website which collates data from 92 countries, Honda sold a total of 18.4 million motorcycles globally. The figure represents an almost 700,000 unit increase (4.3%) from 2022.
It is not such a surprising revelation, given that Honda dominates the cub and scooter segments in ASEAN markets (except for Malaysia alone). The ASEAN region consists of motorcycle-centric countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines. In fact, they have cornered almost 1/3 of the entire world’s motorcycle market.
In Number 2 was Hero Motor from India with 5.6 million motorcycles sold, an 5.4% increase. Hero’s bikes are sold not only in their native country, but also exported to several other countries.
Third in the ranking is Yamaha, who moved 4.6 million units (0.9% increase). However, their overall market share has dropped by 5% to 7.5%.
Yamaha was however Numero Uno in Malaysia, consolidated by a hefty sales figure of 652,850 units. This result is the second best ever, being just 4.0% lower than the highest record. Malaysia is still the 12th biggest market for motorcycles globally.
Continuing the list, Bajaj Auto saw 3.6 million sales (up 8.7%) due to strong domestic demand.
In fifth is TVS Motor, selling 3.4 million bikes (increase of 19.8%).
Shanghai-based Yadea sold 2.5 million electric scooters in 2023. Although they are in sixth place in this list, it is actually a 3-place drop due to a 49.7% decline in sales compared to 2022. Yadea makes premium electric scooters and is selling in Malaysia under MForce Bike Holdings.
Suzuki resurged to seventh place, with 1.9 million sales (7.1% higher).
Three Chinese manufacturers namely Haojue, Loncin, and Zhongshen round out the top 10.
