Top trends in 2025

1. Electrified Motorcycle Share hits Almost 15%.

Rarely in business and industry does a trend point toward a market transition with certainty, but the long run evidence regarding the electrification of mobility is just so overwhelming as to make it seem all but inevitable.

Motorcycle Global is not suggesting that ICE powered motorcycles will vanish, but they will continue to lose significant market share for at least the next ten years, reaching approximate parity within fifteen years. 

Since 2009, the e-P2W has gone from 0.3% of global motorcycle sales by volume, to over 14%, with undeniable signals that the rate of growth is accelerating. 

In any industry this would represent a radical paradigm shift, but in one as mature, hyper-competitive and dynamic as motor vehicles this represents a revolution.

Despite seismic macroeconomic shocks including COVID, tariffs, a massive land war in Europe, new conflagrations in the Middle East and introduction of AI, the electrification of P2W has continued almost unabated with only minor slow downs in jurisdictions where EVs are highly politicized such as the US and EU.

These are not opinions, they are observations of the facts outlined in this report, based on multipoint source methodology spanning five continents and referencing data as far back as 2014. 

Electric P2W vehicles, as of Q1 2026, offer lower total cost of ownership, simpler operation, reduced maintenance and a better user experience for the majority of commuters and commercial delivery riders in any geographies where combustion P2Ws are in significant use.

Long running arguments to the contrary, from claims that batteries would require frequent replacement, to lack of infrastructure, to unscientific calculations regarding total CO2 emissions of EVs versus combustion rivals have had zero impact on actual sales.

Global markets have spoken, and continue to demand more electrified mobility.  Falling battery costs and steady energy density improvements - consistent at a rate of about 10% per year - will only exaggerate the fundamental superiority of the e-P2W value proposition for most users.

The simple truth is that a majority of mobility consumers focus on economics, and the economic facts are indisputable :

e-P2Ws are better value to anyone seeking urban mobility, which today represents more than 98% of the total addressable market for global two-wheeler sales.

2. Chinese Brands Drive the Industry Story.

3. SURRON and Off Road Electric Bikes Dominate US.

Dirt Bikes are America’s Motorcycle

Despite the best efforts of Hollywood movies and the Harley-Davidson marketing machine, Americans have always favoured motocross and dual-sport motorcycles over all other types. The chromed, bit twin-cylinder touring cruisers may be the most profitable motorcycles in American markets, but historically the sales volumes have never wavered: off-road motorcycles have accounted for more than 50% of US sales for over six decades.

The unexpected rise of Chinese light off-road e-motorcycles — specifically the Surron and Talaria brands — has created a new product category that falls between e-bike and full motorcycle classifications.

The enormous appeal of the Surron-type e-P2W is simplicity : they are easy to buy, ride and enjoy without spending a lot.  In suburban western markets, the segment has seen strong sales in all of the demographics that used to buy conventional small-displacement gasoline-powered motorcycles. With the major of conventional P2W marketed in America and the EU starting at prices above $5000 USD, distributed only through branded dealers..

The Surron / Talaria Effect

This segment is booming particularly among younger riders in Europe and in particular in the United States. Dozens of clones, white-labelled imitations mostly from China but marketed under various brand names masquerading as western products have flooded the market through small regional or national distributors.  Many of these “off-brand” or “Amazon bikes” are available direct to consumer through drop-shipping apps at prices from as low as $2900 USD.

Regulation Be Damned

Most do not come with motor vehicle documentation, certificates of regulatory compliance, and many falsify battery documents to avoid costly high-energy Lithium travel regulations.  The result has been widely reported battery fires, sometimes resulting in injury and significant property damage.

The consequences of this unregulated segment has been threefold : many new e-P2W riders have been introduced into the market; many of them are ridden illegally on roads, cycle paths and sidewalks & pedestrian pavements; and some jurisdictions have reacted by banning them outright, such as New York.

Growth in all Directions

But the sales impact is undeniable.  Since the United States does not have a government reporting body dedicated to P2Ws, public market sales data is provided by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), a US trade group who only share statistics for a fee, and then only account for sales by manufacturers who are members.   MIC reporting says that total US motorcycle sales in the 2020-2025 period are flat at around 500,000 units annually. 

A detailed private investigation conducted by Motorcycle Global revealed an additional ~44,000 units unaccounted by the MIC, most of which were Surron light off road models and clones thereof.  This makes this type the best selling motorcycle among young and new riders, with growth of 17% YOY.