West Asia war may impact two-wheeler demand: Suzuki Motorcycle’s Deepak Mutreja

The ongoing West Asia war could impact customer footfall in showrooms after robust sales in the previous fiscal, according to Deepak Mutreja, Operational Head of sales & marketing at Suzuki Motorcycle India.

“The impact of the war is clearly visible because in terms of commodity prices, the early indicators suggest an impact in the coming quarters,” Mutreja told BT in an interview. “If fuel prices and inflation rise due to the West Asia crisis, it's going to impact business as nobody can be insulated from inflation which has been around 2% last year,” he added.

Sales of two-wheelers reached their pre-Covid high levels by crossing the 21-million mark in the financial year 2025-26. While the market was almost flat in the first half of FY26, sales rebounded sharply by more than 20% in the second half, thanks to a lot of initiatives in terms of personal taxation and GST rate rationalisation, said Mutreja. “For two-wheelers, the affordability is key.Once inflation increases, the footfall drops,” he added.

Suzuki Motorcycle India launched the all-new Burgman Street with prices starting at Rs 1.02 lakh (ex-showroom and going up to Rs 1.13 lakh). Since its introduction in 2018, Burgman Street has steadily grown to become one of the fastest-growing models in the 125cc scooter segment. “Over the years, it has received an encouraging response, with sales doubling over the past three years,” said Kenichi Umeda, Managing Director, Suzuki Motorcycle India.

The two-wheeler subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan concluded 2025-26 with its highest-ever annual sales of 14,39,415 units, registering a double-digit growth of 15% over 12,56,155 units sold in FY25. Domestic sales stood at 11,74,874 units in FY26, up from 10,45,662 units in the last financial year, reflecting a 12% increase. Export performance remained robust with 2,64,541 units, as against 2,10,493 units in FY25, marking a 26% growth. Suzuki Motorcycle also entered the EV race earlier this year with the launch of its maiden electric scooter, e-ACCESS.

The Japanese automaker is ramping up its production capacity by setting up a new plant in Haryana’s Kharkhoda. The first phase of the plant is expected to have a production capacity of 7.5 lakh units. India contributes roughly 50% to Suzuki Motorcycles’ overall volumes.

The two-wheeler maker, which exited the commuter motorcycle segment to focus on premium motorcycles, is also re-examining the market as it builds more capacity. “We exited the segment a long time back. We are closely studying the market. We want to grow more. As Kharkhoda factory comes, we are studying different scenarios. Only time will tell what we do,” said Mutreja. Scooters account for over 90% of Suzuki Motorcycle’s sales in India.