Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is expanding its footprint in the high-volume commuter motorcycle segment, aiming to challenge Hero MotoCorp, the dominant market leader. To strengthen its position in the world's largest two-wheeler market, the Japanese two-wheeler major launched two new motorcycles -- the Shine 100 Deluxe and the CB125 Hornet -- on Wednesday. These strategic introductions are designed to drive sales volume and compete more aggressively in this key segment.
“With these two new models, our volume is surely going to go up. Last year was very significant for us because in the total industry growth of 1.6 million, we contributed 50% of the growth. We expect to have this kind of growth in this fiscal year as well with the launch of these two motorcycles,” said Yogesh Mathur, Director, Sales and Marketing at HMSI.
Despite a decline in demand for entry-level motorcycles (100-110cc) in recent years, the segment still accounted for more than 46% of motorcycle volume and 29% of the total two-wheeler sales in the financial year 2025. Hero MotoCorp, on the back of its most successful product Splendor dominates this space with about 78% share.
HSMI, the second largest two-wheeler player in India, currently holds only about 6% share in the entry-level motorcycle category. It expects that new launches in the this segment will help it to increase volume, especially in the rural belt. Besides the freshly launched Shine 100 Deluxe, Honda has Shine 100 in this segment.
Honda is also strengthening its play in the 125cc segment where it is the market leader, thanks to the widespread popularity of the Activa and Shine models. The company launched the CB125 Hornet to target urban youth customers as it believes the bike combines aggressive street-style design, advanced features and thrilling performance. Bookings for the new Honda CB125 Hornet and the Honda Shine 100 DX will be open from 1st August 2025.
The aggressive approach by Honda in the high volume segments comes as it is targeting a 30% share in the Indian two-wheeler market by 2030. Currently, HMSI has a 27% market share in the Indian market.
According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the total two-wheeler retail sales in India stood at 1,88,77,812 units in FY25 compared to 1,75,27,115 units in FY24. HMSI's retail sales in FY25 were 47,89,283 units against 40,93,895 units in FY24. It was the number two player after Hero MotoCorp, which clocked 54,45,251 units in FY25 and 53,97,315 units in FY24.