Despite slowdown, motorcycle firms pin hopes on faster growing mid-segment

Royal Enfield corners 90-95 per cent of the middle-weight segment

A slowdown may be gripping the broader two-wheeler market, but motorcycle makers are revving up in the mid segment. This is the segment that includes bikes in the 250-650 cc category priced over Rs 1.5 lakh.

Driving the trend among consumers is a growing preference for pricier, higher capacity bikes that can be used for daily commutes as well as for leisure biking. For manufacturers, healthier margins on bigger motorcycles compared to the mass market ones explains the acceleration in a segment that accounts for 3 per cent of the market.

Though all manufacturers are competing for the same set