Motorcycle Market Shifts to Higher Gears

For decades, Nepal’s motorcycle market followed a simple and largely unquestioned logic. Buyers cared most about fuel efficiency, low maintenance costs, and affordable prices. Engine sizes stayed small, while price sensitivity shaped choices. Motorcycles were viewed as practical tools, used to navigate congested cities, weak public transport, and long daily commutes. Mileage mattered more than power, while practicality outweighed aspiration.

That logic is now changing. Over the past three fiscal years, the country’s two-wheeler market has shifted in ways that go beyond cyclical recovery. What looks like a rise in imports and consumer spending is, in fact, a deeper structural change. The shift is visible in engine capacity, unit value, and how mobility itself is perceived. Motorcycles with displacements above 200cc, once limited to a niche group of enthusiasts, are steadily moving into the mainstream. Import volumes in this segment have increased more than six-fold, while import values have grown even faster. This shows the market is clearly moving toward larger, high-spec machines.

Industry people say this transition has been building quietly for years and has now reached a tipping point. “We’ve seen substantial growth in higher-capacity motorcycles, particularly in the 350cc, 360cc, and 400cc categories,” Abhimanyu Golchha, Director of the Golchha Group, the authorized distributor of Bajaj, KTM, and Triumph motorcycles in Nepal, said. “The rise of premium riders, organized riding communities, and long-distance touring culture has contributed to this transformation. Nepali customers generally prefer higher-end, feature-rich motorcycles, and that preference has gradually pushed the market upward.”

The data supports this view. Between 2022/23 and 2024/25, imports of motorcycles above 200cc jumped from just over 4,000 units to more than 24,000. Import values increased from under Rs 750 million to over Rs 4.6 billion in the same period. Growth at this scale, sustained over multiple fiscal years, suggests a clear break from the past.

Importantly, this surge is not confined to the premium end of the spectrum. Even mass-market segments are being pulled upward. Golchha notes that entry-level motorcycles today are no bare-bones machines. “Even in lower-capacity categories, customers now expect advanced features,” he said, pointing to models such as the Bajaj Pulsar N125 and N160. Features like dual-channel ABS and upside-down front forks, once found only on larger bikes, are now becoming common. The result is a market upgrading from within, blurring the old divide between commuter and premium segments.

If changing demand explains why the market is evolving, changes on the supply side explain how it has moved so quickly.

A key driver of Nepal’s big-bike boom is the shift away from fully assembled imports toward completely knocked down (CKD) and semi-knocked down (SKD) units assembled domestically. In 2024/25, unassembled motorcycles made up more than 72% of total imports by volume and over three-quarters by value. This shift has reshaped pricing, narrowed the gap between mass and premium models, and brought higher-capacity motorcycles within the reach of a wider group of buyers.

“Motorcycles imported as CKD units are far more price-competitive,” Golchha explained. “Earlier, bikes from brands like Triumph and KTM cost around Rs 900,000 to Rs 1 million. With CKD assembly, prices have dropped to roughly Rs 700,000 to Rs 800,000.” He added that CKD models also come with better warranties and stronger after-sales support, which reduces buyer hesitation.

Lower prices are only part of the story. CKD assembly has changed the economics of ownership. Reduced duties, better service coverage, and improved spare parts availability have made larger motorcycles feel less like indulgences and more like sensible long-term purchases. For many buyers, engine capacity now represents value—combining durability, comfort, performance, and identity.

Distributors argue that these affordability gains have not compromised quality. Deepak Kumar Agrawal, Executive Director and CEO of MAW Rides, Yamaha’s distributor in Nepal, said CKD and SKD units follow the same global standards as fully assembled motorcycles. “Quality control is managed by the company itself,” he said. “Assembly in Nepal involves limited value addition, but the final product meets the same benchmarks.”

The rise of CKD assembly has also reinforced another defining feature of Nepal’s two-wheeler ecosystem: the dominance of Indian manufacturing. Over the past three fiscal years, nearly all unassembled motorcycles above 200cc imported into Nepal have come from India. Indian manufacturers benefit from scale, proximity, competitive pricing, and familiarity with regional road conditions. Established service networks and strong brand recognition have made them central to Nepal’s big-bike growth.

“Indian motorcycles offer a reliable balance of quality and affordability,” Golchha said, adding that brands like Bajaj have long global track records, which builds trust among Nepali buyers.

Agrawal agreed with Golchha, pointing out that Indian motorcycles align well with Nepali terrain and riding habits. 

Wider dealer networks and easy access to spare parts of Indian manufacturers are especially important as buyers move toward higher-capacity models that demand dependable after-sales support. Chinese brands, by contrast, remain largely confined to assembled units and lower-capacity segments and do not play a major role in the core growth engine of the big-bike market.

Still, supply-side changes alone do not explain the transformation. Demand itself has evolved. Motorcycling in Nepal is no longer purely utilitarian. For many, it has become a lifestyle choice. Urban professionals, returnee migrants, and small-business owners with rising disposable incomes and driving this shift. Weekend rides, organized group tours, and long-distance travel are now common. Motorcycles are increasingly being used for recreation, social connection, and self-expression.

“Riding today is as much about lifestyle as it is about transport,” Agrawal said. “People choose motorcycles for performance, power, and the communities they want to be part of—much like choosing a smartphone based on features, not just basic use.”

Infrastructure has quietly supported this change. Better highways, expanding road networks, and improved connectivity between cities and tourist corridors have made longer rides practical and appealing. 

Financing options, exchange schemes, and carefully calibrated pricing have further lowered barriers, allowing more buyers to move up the capacity ladder.

What stands out is how orderly this transition has been. There are few signs of speculative excess. Inventory levels remain stable, heavy discounting is rare, and value growth has consistently outpaced volume growth. This suggests a deliberate shift toward higher-quality motorcycles rather than short-term buying frenzies.

Between 2022/23 and 2024/25, motorcycle imports above 200cc grew by roughly 460% in volume, while import value rose by more than 517%. This suggests that buyers are not simply purchasing more motorcycles—they are choosing more expensive, better-equipped ones, often with longer ownership horizons.

For policymakers and industry players, the message is clear. Nepal’s motorcycle market is no longer anchored only in commuting efficiency. It is increasingly shaped by aspiration, lifestyle mobility, and regional manufacturing integration. The debate over whether big bikes belong in Nepal’s mainstream is already settled.

The more important question is how large that mainstream will become—and how far the market’s center of gravity will continue to shift as incomes rise, infrastructure improves, and expectations evolve.

Nepal’s motorcycle story is no longer just about mileage and necessity. It is about transformation—of a market, a consumer base, and a country redefining how it moves and what it values on the road ahead. 

(The report was first published in the January 2026 issue of New Business Age magazine.)