Top-tier Bike Brands in India: A list of 12 Indian motorcycle makers

Are you curious to know more about bike brands in India? You have come to the right place.

India is the largest manufacturer of bikes, and all bike companies in the country have been instrumental in achieving the feat.

Presently, a dozen companies are engaged in manufacturing motorbikes not just for the domestic market but also for the global markets.

We have Hero Moto Corp, which is one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. And Royal Enfield, one of India’s best bike brands, has a wide range of classic bikes in its portfolio sought after both in the country and different parts of the world.

Indian bikes get appreciated for their reliability, ability to endure tough conditions, fuel efficiency, handling and braking and suspension duties. While some high-end brands such as Royal Enfield are seen in Britain and the US, the more affordable ones from Hero Moto Corp and Bajaj Auto get exported to many African nations.

In this article, we have listed all bike brands in India. Read on to know more about their history, recent developments, and upcoming models.

Hero Moto Corp

Hero Moto Corp is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in India and has a market share of nearly 37.1% in the two-wheeler industry.

In 1984, Indian cycle primary Hero Cycles formed a joint venture with Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co to manufacture motorcycles for the domestic market. So, it led to the foundation of Hero Honda.

The joint venture manufactured bikes for 26 years, and in 2010 Hero and the board of directors of Honda decided to demerge. In 2011, Hero Honda got rechristened as Hero Motor Corp.

The company now leads in the commuter motorcycle segment with its best-selling products such as Splendor and Passion. It has the largest chain of dealerships and service centres all over the country and wide-reaching bike manufacturer in terms of sales.

It also has a lineup of premium motorcycles such as Xtreme 160 and Glamour, and it has presently started making entry-level sports bikes such as Xtreme 200S.

Hero also built the most affordable adventure tourer in the country—the Xpulse 200 and Xpulse 200T. However, its attempts to make a mark in the Indian premium bike segment are yet to yield results compared to its competitors like TVS and KTM. The competitors of Hero are going from strength to strength in the segment.

A brief company profile

Bajaj Auto

Bajaj Auto is one of the known bike brands in India.

Bajaj Auto is a Pune-based multinational automobile manufacturer that manufactures several types of two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles, including scooters, motorcycles and auto rickshaws.

Founded by Jamanlal Bajaj in 1945, Bajaj Auto began its operation in Rajasthan by selling imported two-wheelers in India. It obtained the license from the Indian Government in 1959 to manufacture two-wheelers and three-wheelers and became a public limited company the following year.

After rolling out motorcycles under its brand in 1986, it changed its branding from a scooter maker to a two-wheeler manufacturer.

It now is the second-largest manufacturer of bikes in India and the third-largest in the world. It is the largest manufacturer of three-wheeler vehicles in the world.

It has some great motorcycles in its portfolio, including entry-level commuters such as CT100 and Platina, street bikes such as Pulsar range of motorcycles, Avenger cruisers, and high-performance machines like the Dominar line.

Bajaj also joined hands with KTM to introduce performance sports motorbikes in the country. Presently, KTM’s Chakan factory in Pune builts all KTM bikes ranging between 125cc and 390cc.

The bikemaker has also collaborated with Triumph Motorcycles to manufacture mid-capacity motorbikes for the domestic market.

A brief company profile

TVS Motor Company

TVS Motor Company is the third-largest motorcycle maker and the second-largest two-wheeler exporter in India.

The company was founded by automobile magnate Thirukkurungudi Vengaram Sundram Iyengar in 1978.

What started with moped manufacturing in the 1980s gave way to technical collaboration with Suzuki Motor, and in1989, the first bike of the joint venture rolled out. The partnership ended in 2000, but now TVS has a robust line-up of motorcycles in its portfolio.

The commuter segment includes Radeon, Apache RTR series in the street bike segment, and Apache RR bikes in the sports segment.

Presently, the company has collaborated with BMW to build an entry-level premium motorcycle and has developed and rolled out three new performance bikes. At the same time, two BMW G 310GS and G 310R get sold under the BMW logo, the Apache RR310 under the TVS logo.

A brief company profile

Royal Enfield

Royal Enfield is a Chennai-based multinational motorbike brand, which claims to be ‘the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production.’ Presently, it is now a subsidiary of Indian auto major Eicher Motors Limited.

The bike brand manufactures classic-looking bikes, including Bullet 350, Classic 350, Meteor 350, Himalayan, Classic 500, Continental, and Interceptor 650.

Bullet 350 has been the longest production bike of all time and one of the brand’s best-selling bikes.

The Classic model is the highlight of the brand, and the Classic 500 is its highest-selling motorbike.

Previously critiqued bike for its old-school technology and the lack of modern features, now introduced contemporary models with new features and powerful engines such as the Continental GT 650 and Interceptor 650.

A brief company profile

Mahindra Two Wheelers

Mahindra Two Wheelers is a scooter and bike manufacturing group venture owned by auto major Mahindra & Mahindra. It was founded in 2008 after M&M acquired the business assets of Kinetic Motor Company.

The company has joined hands with Italy’s Engines Engineering for product design and research and development and Taiwan’s Sanyang Industry Company for technical assistance in developing its scooter portfolio.

Once, it had several bikes in its portfolio, such as Centuro, Rockstar, and Pantero. But they all were discontinued except for one model.

It presently manufactures only one motorcycle named Mojo 300, a street-tourer bike that comes in four variants.

Mahindra Two Wheelers has a production factory at Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh and a Research and Development unit located at Chinchwad, Pune.

A brief company profile