This is why simply asking which company sells more motorcycles misses the investment question.

For underlying Bull Run data, see Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor.

Q1 FY27 operating comparison

TVS sells more vehicles, but Bajaj generates more revenue

TVS Q1 total volume was:

approximately 1.63 million units.

Bajaj sold:

1.438 million units.

TVS therefore sold approximately:

13.4% more vehicles.

Yet Bajaj standalone revenue was:

₹17,244 crore.

TVS revenue was:

₹13,896 crore.

Bajaj generated approximately 24% more revenue.

This tells us product mix matters more than unit count

A simplistic revenue-divided-by-volume calculation gives approximately:

• Bajaj: ₹1.20 lakh per vehicle,
• TVS: ₹0.85 lakh per vehicle.

These are not vehicle ASPs.

Revenue includes differences in:

• spares,
• exports,
• commercial vehicles,
• product mix,
• three-wheelers,
• pricing,
• other operating revenue.

The calculation is useful only as an economic-mix indicator.

Bajaj's mix produces far greater revenue per unit of physical volume

The likely contributors include:

• premium Pulsar motorcycles,
• higher-value KTM and Triumph ecosystem exposure,
• three-wheelers,
• export pricing,
• favourable currency,
• Chetak EVs.

This is one reason Bajaj can produce extraordinary operating margins.

The export difference is the heart of the Bajaj thesis

Bajaj exported more vehicles than it sold domestically

Q1 exports:

732,173.

Domestic sales:

706,078.

Exports exceeded domestic volume by:

26,095 vehicles.

Very few large Indian consumer manufacturers have this degree of export intensity.

Bajaj two-wheeler exports alone exceeded domestic two-wheelers

Domestic two-wheelers:

586,547.

Two-wheeler exports:

636,005.

Exports were approximately:

8.4% higher than domestic two-wheeler volume.

Why export intensity can be a competitive advantage

It reduces dependence on:

• one economy,
• one credit cycle,
• one monsoon,
• one regulatory regime.

It can also support:

• factory utilisation,
• currency benefits,
• platform scale,
• global brand development.

But exports also create volatility

Bajaj is exposed to:

• Latin American economies,
• African demand,
• foreign exchange,
• shipping,
• commodity cycles,
• geopolitical disruptions.

The same global footprint that increases opportunity also introduces macro risk.

Q1 export growth was exceptional

Bajaj exports increased:

54% YoY.

Two-wheeler exports rose:

52%.

Commercial-vehicle exports grew approximately:

69%.

Growth was supported by recovery in Africa and strong Latin American markets.

TVS is also a serious exporter

International Q1 sales reached approximately:

468,000 units.

Growth was:

33% YoY.

That is not a small export business.

TVS simply has an even larger domestic franchise.

TVS operates in more than 80 countries

Its international portfolio includes:

• motorcycles,
• scooters,
• three-wheelers,
• premium mobility brands through group subsidiaries.

The company continues to invest in global distribution and premium-brand expansion.

Domestic scale is where TVS dominates this comparison

TVS disclosed monthly domestic two-wheeler dispatches of:

• April: 348,545,
• May: 384,565,
• June: 411,014.

Combined Q1 domestic two-wheeler volume is therefore approximately:

1,144,124 units.

Bajaj domestic two-wheelers were:

586,547.

TVS sold almost twice as many domestic two-wheelers as Bajaj

The ratio is approximately:

1.95x.

This is TVS's biggest scale advantage.

Its domestic reach spans:

• commuter motorcycles,
• premium motorcycles,
• scooters,
• mopeds,
• electric scooters.

TVS has one of the broadest Indian two-wheeler portfolios

Major motorcycle families include:

• Apache,
• Raider,
• Ronin,
• Sport,
• Radeon,
• StaR City.

Scooters include:

• Jupiter,
• Ntorq,
• iQube,
• electric products.

This breadth allows TVS to participate across a wider range of customer incomes and use cases.

Scooters are a major TVS growth engine

Q1 scooter volume reached:

approximately 680,000 units.

Growth was:

36% YoY.

Jupiter is particularly important.

The scooter category provides TVS with a large franchise that Bajaj largely exited in ICE form before returning to scooters through the electric Chetak.

Bajaj's domestic strategy is more premium-motorcycle focused

Bajaj's core motorcycle franchise is increasingly oriented toward:

• 125cc+,
• sports motorcycles,
• Pulsar,
• Dominar,
• premium partner brands.

Management has identified strengthening the 125cc-plus segment as an FY27 priority.

Premiumisation matters because it can improve unit economics

A higher-capacity motorcycle generally allows greater:

• revenue per unit,
• gross profit per unit,
• accessory revenue,
• brand pricing power.

This helps explain why Bajaj can earn more revenue with fewer vehicles.

Pulsar remains central to Bajaj's franchise

Pulsar spans:

• 125cc entry sports,
• 150–160cc motorcycles,
• 200cc performance products,
• 250cc products,
• 400cc premium performance.

This creates a ladder that can move a customer upward within the same brand.

TVS has its own premium ladder through Apache

Apache provides TVS with:

• 150–160cc performance products,
• 200cc motorcycles,
• 310cc premium products,
• motorsport-linked branding.

Ronin and other newer motorcycles add lifestyle exposure.

TVS therefore should not be characterised as only a commuter/scooter company.

Q1 motorcycle growth was 19% at TVS

TVS sold approximately:

740,000 motorcycles.

Growth was:

19% YoY.

Scooters grew even faster at 36%.

This suggests TVS's current growth is broad across product formats.

EVs are where TVS has the clearest disclosed unit advantage

TVS sold:

129,940 electric two-wheelers in Q1 FY27.

Growth was:

86% YoY.

Q1 FY26 EV volume had been:

70,060 units.

EVs were already 8.3% of TVS two-wheeler volume

The calculation is:

129,940 ÷ 1,564,000 ≈ 8.3%.

This means electric scooters are no longer immaterial to TVS's unit mix.

TVS has crossed one million EV customers

The company announced that its cumulative electric-vehicle customer base exceeded:

one million.

That installed base creates:

• service data,
• battery-performance data,
• customer referrals,
• brand awareness,
• used-EV experience.

Bajaj's EV strategy is economically meaningful even without a comparable Q1 unit disclosure

Bajaj said electric vehicles—including Chetak scooters and electric three-wheelers—contributed approximately:

30% of domestic business revenue.

EV revenue nearly doubled year on year.

That is an unusually high economic contribution.

Do not compare TVS's 129,940 EV units with Bajaj's 30% EV revenue

One number measures:

units.

The other measures:

share of domestic revenue.

They answer different questions.

Chetak demand is exceeding current supply

Bajaj has indicated Chetak demand has been constrained by production capacity.

The company plans to increase production from approximately:

50,000 units per month

toward:

60,000 units per month.

That creates potential volume upside if demand remains intact.

Chetak has become a much larger retail franchise

The company has expanded Chetak through:

• exclusive experience centres,
• broader Bajaj touchpoints,
• multiple battery/range variants,
• increased production capacity.

The EV business is therefore moving from a niche extension to a central domestic-growth pillar.

Bajaj also plans electric motorcycles

Management has indicated electric motorcycles are planned by:

FY28.

This is strategically important because Bajaj's brand strength is historically strongest in motorcycles.

A successful electric Pulsar-like proposition could extend the company beyond the scooter-centric EV market.

TVS currently has greater EV platform breadth in the market

TVS continues expanding products around:

• iQube,
• new electric scooter variants,
• premium electric mobility.

The company also reached its one-million-EV-customer milestone in August.

The margin difference is the most important financial number

Bajaj's margin advantage is:

8.1 percentage points.

That is enormous in automobile manufacturing.

Bajaj generated roughly twice TVS's EBITDA

Bajaj:

₹3,596 crore.

TVS:

₹1,779 crore.

Ratio:

approximately 2.0x.

This occurred despite TVS selling more vehicles.

Why Bajaj margins are so strong

Q1 benefited from:

• strong exports,
• favourable rupee movement,
• premium product mix,
• operating leverage,
• pricing,
• cost savings,
• commercial-vehicle profitability.

This gives Bajaj one of the highest operating margins among mass two-wheeler manufacturers.

TVS margin quality is still improving

TVS EBITDA margin increased from:

12.5%

to:

12.8%.

This occurred despite:

sharp commodity inflation.

The company offset part of the pressure through:

• price increases,
• cost optimisation,
• production scale.

TVS has significant operating-leverage potential

If TVS continues growing volumes at 20%+ while:

• premium mix rises,
• EV economics improve,
• commodity pressure moderates,
• exports scale,

its margin can continue expanding.

But closing an 8.1-point gap with Bajaj would require far more than one or two quarters.

TVS PAT growth was faster

TVS PAT increased:

51% YoY to ₹1,174 crore.

Bajaj standalone PAT increased:

42% YoY to ₹2,983 crore.

TVS therefore wins on growth rate.

Bajaj wins on absolute earnings scale.

TVS Q1 PAT also included a valuation gain

Q1 TVS PAT included approximately:

₹150 crore of fair-valuation gain on investments.

The comparable prior-year quarter included approximately ₹28 crore.

This means reported 51% PAT growth benefited from a larger non-operating investment gain.

Underlying TVS earnings still grew strongly

Removing that one item does not eliminate the operating improvement.

Revenue grew 38%.

EBITDA grew 41%.

EBITDA margin expanded.

The key point is simply:

reported PAT growth should not be interpreted as entirely operating.

Bajaj's standalone numbers are cleaner for peer comparison

Bajaj's consolidated Q1 accounts changed after control/consolidation treatment of Bajaj Auto International Holdings AG.

That makes consolidated year-on-year comparisons less clean.

This article therefore uses:

Bajaj standalone revenue, EBITDA and PAT

against TVS's company operating results.

Bajaj's balance sheet provides substantial flexibility

The company had surplus funds around:

₹21,000 crore

around the Q1 period according to company-linked reporting.

It also generated significant free cash flow.

This gives Bajaj capacity for:

• EV investment,
• capacity expansion,
• shareholder distributions,
• global-brand investment.

Capacity is increasing

Bajaj has discussed raising annual capacity from around:

7 million vehicles

toward approximately:

9 million.

That supports:

• Chetak growth,
• export expansion,
• premium motorcycles,
• commercial vehicles.

TVS is scaling through a broader product machine

Bajaj is scaling through a different sequence

August sales show both companies retained momentum

Bajaj August 2026 total sales reached:

535,764 vehicles.

Growth was approximately:

28% YoY.

Two-wheelers increased to:

443,748, +30%.

Two-wheeler exports reached:

241,850, +53%.

Bajaj's export engine remained exceptionally strong after Q1

August domestic two-wheelers grew:

10%.

Exports grew:

53%.

The divergence seen in Q1 therefore continued into Q2.

TVS August sales also set a very high absolute run-rate

TVS August total sales reached approximately:

616,540 units.

Growth was:

21% YoY.

That remains above Bajaj's absolute monthly unit volume.

TVS had already set a record in July

July sales reached approximately:

629,675 units.

Domestic two-wheelers were:

437,394.

EV volume was approximately:

60,934.

The July EV number was up sharply year on year.

Return ratios are strong at both companies

Bull Run's June 2026 fundamentals show:

• Bajaj ROE: 29.03%,
• Bajaj ROCE: 28.97%,
• TVS ROE: 33.41%,
• TVS ROCE: 28.83%.

TVS has the higher ROE.

ROCE is almost identical.

TVS's ROE helps explain some of its valuation premium

A company compounding equity above 30% deserves a premium to a low-return manufacturer.

But Bajaj itself already produces roughly 29% ROE.

The return-quality difference is therefore not large enough on its own to explain a P/E multiple above twice Bajaj's.

Valuation is where the comparison becomes extreme

TVS trades at roughly:

2.08 times Bajaj's trailing P/E.

TVS therefore needs much faster future earnings compounding

At 60x earnings, the market is pricing in:

• continued double-digit volume growth,
• EV leadership,
• scooter growth,
• premiumisation,
• margin expansion,
• international growth.

Strong current performance is not enough.

The company needs sustained exceptional execution.

Bajaj has a much lower valuation hurdle

At roughly 29x earnings, Bajaj already offers:

• 20.9% EBITDA margin,
• 42% PAT growth,
• 54% export growth,
• 29% ROE,
• rapid EV-revenue growth.

The valuation therefore requires less future perfection.

The main valuation argument for TVS is reinvestment runway

TVS can continue reinvesting in:

• EVs,
• premium motorcycles,
• international markets,
• Norton,
• scooter platforms.

If those businesses compound faster than Bajaj over many years, a premium can be justified.

The question is the size of that premium.

Bull Run market snapshot

Which sells more vehicles?

TVS.

Q1 volume was approximately 1.63 million versus Bajaj at 1.438 million.

Which sells more domestic two-wheelers?

TVS by almost 2x.

Approximately 1.144 million versus Bajaj at 586,547.

Which has greater export scale?

Bajaj.

732,173 total Q1 exports versus TVS international business around 468,000.

Which is more export dependent?

Bajaj by a wide margin.

Approximately 50.9% of Q1 volume was exported versus TVS international volume at roughly 28.7% of total sales.

Which has stronger premium motorcycle positioning?

Both have meaningful franchises.

Bajaj has Pulsar, Dominar and partner-brand exposure with a strong 125cc-plus strategic focus.

TVS has Apache, Ronin and Raider while simultaneously holding much greater scooter scale.

Which has stronger disclosed EV volume?

TVS.

129,940 Q1 electric two-wheelers, up 86%.

Which has more EV revenue exposure?

Bajaj provides the stronger disclosed domestic-revenue statistic.

Electric two- and three-wheelers together contribute approximately 30% of domestic business revenue.

This cannot be compared directly with TVS's EV unit share.

Which has the higher EBITDA margin?

Bajaj by a huge margin.

20.9% versus 12.8%.

Which had faster Q1 PAT growth?

TVS.

51% versus Bajaj at approximately 42%.

TVS's reported PAT included a larger fair-valuation gain on investments.

Which generates more absolute profit?

Bajaj.

₹2,983 crore standalone PAT versus TVS at ₹1,174 crore.

Which has higher ROE?

TVS slightly.

33.4% versus Bajaj at 29.0%.

Which has the lower valuation?

Bajaj by a very wide margin.

August 31 P/E was approximately 28.8x versus TVS at 60.0x.

Bajaj Auto vs TVS Motor: category-by-category

Which is stronger in 2026?

Bajaj Auto currently has the stronger financial economics.

It combines:

• 37% revenue growth,
• 20.9% EBITDA margin,
• 42% PAT growth,
• more than 50% export mix,
• 54% Q1 export growth,
• 29% ROE,
• rapid EV-revenue expansion,
• a P/E below 30x.

TVS Motor currently has the stronger domestic growth and EV-volume machine.

It combines:

• 1.63 million Q1 vehicles,
• nearly twice Bajaj's domestic two-wheeler volume,
• 36% scooter growth,
• 19% motorcycle growth,
• 129,940 Q1 EVs,
• 86% EV growth,
• 33% international-business growth,
• 33%+ ROE.

The central issue is price.

TVS is currently valued at roughly twice Bajaj's trailing P/E despite Bajaj producing a dramatically higher operating margin.

The trade-off is therefore:

Bajaj Auto = export-heavy, premiumising, high-margin two- and three-wheeler franchise with strong EV economics and a substantially lower valuation hurdle.

TVS Motor = faster domestic-volume and EV-scale compounder with exceptional product breadth, but investors are already paying a very large valuation premium for that growth.

What to monitor next

• Bajaj exports: Q1's 54% growth and August's 53% two-wheeler export growth are unusually strong.
• Bajaj domestic motorcycles: growth needs to move closer to the wider industry.
• Pulsar 125cc+: premium mix is central to margin quality.
• Chetak capacity: production expansion toward 60,000 monthly units should reduce lost demand.
• Bajaj EV revenue: roughly 30% domestic contribution is now material.
• Bajaj EBITDA margin: maintaining ~20% through commodity cycles would validate the structural-margin thesis.
• TVS domestic two-wheelers: current scale is the company's biggest competitive advantage.
• TVS scooters: 36% Q1 growth should remain a major growth engine.
• TVS EV volume: Q1 129,940 and strong July momentum need to continue.
• TVS EBITDA margin: investors need sustained expansion to justify the premium multiple.
• TVS international business: 33% Q1 growth can reduce domestic concentration.
• Valuation: TVS's roughly 60x P/E leaves substantially less room for execution disappointment.

Frequently asked questions