Two-wheelers are essential to road transportation in much of the world. From Bogotá to Jakarta, motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds offer a nimble and affordable mode of personal mobility. More than 85% of Vietnamese, Thai, and Indonesian households and more than 50% of Indian households own a two-wheeler. These vehicles serve diverse roles, from daily commuting to last-mile delivery and taxi services in urban and rural areas. 

Electrification of the two-wheeler fleet will bring great benefits in decarbonizing the road transportation sector and reducing consumers’ fuel costs. The transition will also pave the way for air quality and health benefits: electric two-wheelers (e2Ws) emit zero tailpipe emissions, reducing harmful pollution that two-wheeler riders and drivers are most directly exposed to. Producing e2Ws is also a great starting point for countries seeking to build up domestic electric vehicle manufacturing capacity. 

With all of these potential benefits, how much traction are e2W gaining around the world? We couldn’t wait for the year to wrap up, so we took a sneak peek at January–October 2025 sales figures from MotorCycles Data to look for signs of progress. Here’s what we found: 

Between January and October 2025, 85% of global two-wheeler sales were concentrated in 10 markets: India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Pakistan, and Europe (including the European Union, European Free Trade Association, and the UK). India and China were the largest markets, accounting for 28 million sales—more than half of the 55 million two-wheelers sold globally. Southeast Asia also stood out, led by Indonesia and Vietnam; the region’s combined sales surpassed China’s.  

Electric two-wheeler sales were more concentrated, with 95% of e2Ws sold in China, India, and Vietnam. Other markets such as Indonesia, Europe, Pakistan, and Türkiye each accounted for 1% or less of total e2W sales. The figures below show the sales of two-wheelers (left) and e2Ws (right) by country from January to October 2025. 

Figure 1. Sales of two-wheelers (left) and electric two-wheelers (right) by country, January–October 2025

The global average e2W sales share reached 15% over the first 10 months of 2025, slightly higher than the 14% sales share in 2024. The figure below shows the e2W sales share in major two-wheeler markets and markets with e2W sales shares higher than 5%.

Figure 2. Electric two-wheeler sales share in selected countries, 2024 and January–October 2025

A handful of markets stood out for their e2W adoption—and for their policies that have supported uptake.  

China had the highest e2W sales share globally, at 54.8%, up from 51.7% in 2024. Policy choices have created a favorable environment for the growing e2W market. While conventional motorcycles are prohibited from entering the city center in many major cities to address traffic congestion and safety issues, low-speed e2Ws that do not require driver licenses are generally excluded from the ban, as are electric mopeds in some cities.   

Vietnam ranked second, with an e2W share of 21.7%—a dramatic increase from around 10% in 2024. The surge in e2W sales reflects the market’s reaction to plans in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to implement low emission zones that could ban or restrict gasoline two-wheelers from city centers to address air pollution. Manufacturers like VinFast, Honda, and Yamaha have also conducted sales campaigns and/or provided incentives to stimulate the purchase of e2Ws. 

Kenya has seen remarkable momentum: its e2W sales share doubled from 3.6% in 2023 to 7.4% in 2024, and doubled again to nearly 14.9% in January–October 2025.  The government has supported uptake by exempting e2Ws from value-added tax. The electrification of the motorcycle taxi fleet has been one of the key drivers of Kenya’s transition, leading to considerable fuel cost savings given the long mileage travelled every day. The emergence of electric vehicle manufacturing start-ups and increased investment in battery swapping and charging station deployment also make e2Ws an affordable and convenient option for riders. 

Japan recorded an e2W sales share of 7.8%, up slightly from 2024. Although the country’s e2W sales share is ahead of that for electric cars, major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have generally been slow to commit to the e2W transition. Honda, the world’s leading two-wheeler manufacturer, only began accelerating e2W deployment from 2023, with a plan to invest 100 billion yen ($640 million) toward electrification from 2021 to 2025 and later ramp up to 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion) from 2026 to 2030.  

India had an e2W sales share of 6.5%, and is far ahead of all other markets besides China in absolute e2W sales. Two-wheeler electrification is poised to play an important role in the development of India’s electric vehicle industry, as two-wheelers accounted for 77% of vehicle sales and production in the country in Fiscal Year 2024–25. Battery capacity-based subsidies provided by the central and some state governments and the lower Goods and Services Tax (GST) on electric vehicles have further reduced the 5-year total cost of ownership of e2Ws, which is already lower than that of gasoline counterparts. The upfront cost of e2Ws remains higher, however—a key barrier to uptake, as e2W purchasers are generally highly price-sensitive and upfront cost is often the main factor in purchase decisions. 

The figure below gives a fuller picture of e2W sales shares in markets with data available for 2024 and January–October 2025.  

Figure 3. Electric two-wheeler sales share by country and region, 2024 and January–October 2025

We’ll continue to track the two-wheeler market in regular market monitors and other research, as we’ve done in our coverage of electric light-duty vehicles. Stay tuned for the complete 2025 picture and updates in 2026.