India’s most credible auto awards – ‘The car&bike Awards’ are back with the 2025 edition of the prestigious awards. And it has only gotten larger and grander with more machines, categories, and a lot more fun. In 2024, the Indian auto industry witnessed some big launches along with the introduction of new segments that have been interesting like the Bajaj Freedom CNG bike, Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono and the Kawasaki KLX 230. From outright performance to peak frugal nature to versatility and more, the two-wheelers launched in 2024 have been classified into 12 different categories. Having said that, here’s everything you need to know about the categories and the nominees competing against each other in this year’s awards.
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Commuter Motorcycle of the Year
The Commuter Motorcycle of the Year category is one of the most critical categories as it comprises the majority of the Indian two-wheeler market. From the introduction of new innovations, technology and new models, this category, as simple as it might seem, requires thorough analysis to rate the contenders. This year, we had three motorcycles going up against each other, the nominees are – the Bajaj Pulsar N125, Hero Xtreme 125 and the Bajaj Freedom.
Modern Classic of the Year
Modern technology with retro styling is what sets the tone for this segment of motorcycles. From having different derivatives based on the same platform to all new motorcycles, this year, the Modern Classic of the Year segment witnessed a lot of contenders ranging from as low as 350 cc to up to 1200 cc in displacement. The nominees for this year’s Modern Classic of the Year are – the Triumph Speed T4, Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350, Jawa 350, Jawa 42 FJ, Royal Enfield Shotgun 650, BSA Gold Star 650, Brixton Cromwell 1200 and the BMW R12.
Adventure Motorcycle of the Year (up to 500cc)
Adventure motorcycles are the new trend in the two-wheeler market, with many motorists wanting to explore the world on two wheels. With so many machines crowding this segment, we decided to split the category into two, based on their displacement. For adventure motorcycles under the 500 cc displacement, here are the machines that are competing against one another – Kawasaki KlX230, Yezdi Adventure, and Honda NX500.
Adventure Motorcycle of the Year (above 500cc)
It is now obvious that no adventure motorcycle category is complete without the big boys. And for this year’s contenders, we had an Italian, Japanese and two European bikes, which makes it all the more exciting and competitive to pick a winner of the lot. The bikes nominated this year in this category include the all-new Aprilia Tuareg 660, Suzuki V-Strom 800DE, BMW F 900 GSA and the BMW R 1300 GS.
Roadster of the Year
Roadsters are all about offering the thrill of speed and performance, unlocking a good dose of dopamine and adrenaline every time you get on that machine and thumb that starter to initiate a fun episode with a motorcycle. This year, we had an interesting bag of machines, each unique in their way, and capable of offering undistilled fun on two wheels. The contenders for this year’s Roadster of the Year category are – Husqvarna Vitpilen 250, Bajaj Pulsar NS400Z, Hero Mavrick 440, Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 and Brixton 500X.
Scrambler of the Year
Do you enjoy kicking up some dirt or love to hit the trails on weekends? For those who fall into this category, scramblers are the kind of motorcycles that are built for it. From making way through that challenging maze of traffic on weekdays to heading out of the city to be one with nature and everything in between is what a scrambler is expected to do. On that note, here are the contenders for this year’s Scrambler of the Year Award – Husqvarna Svartpilen 401, Brixton 500 XC, Royal Enfield Interceptor Bear 650.
Performance Motorcycle of the Year
Speed, performance, technology, agility, handling, and many more parameters are what define the Performance Motorcycle of the Year category. It is where manufacturers throw in words like flagship, and segment-leading and also talk about the achievements the machine is capable of. A healthy mix of machines of varying displacements is what this year’s batch of contenders for Performance Motorcycle of the Year consisted of. The nominees are – Kawasaki Ninja 500, Triumph Daytona 660, Suzuki GSX-8R, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono, BMW S 1000 XR, KTM 1390 Super Duke R, KTM 890 Duke R, BMW S 1000 R.
Upgrade of the Year
Improvement is a continuous process and that is a foolproof plan to keep innovating to stay competitive and a step ahead of the competition. A new category addition to our existing list, the contenders ranged from machines that had received upgraded powertrains, while some had received small yet significant updates. Here are the nominees for the Upgrade of the Year category – Ather 450 Apex, TVS iQube ST 5.1 kwH, 2024 TVS Apache RR 310, Jawa 42 (J-Panther), Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2, Hero Vida V2 Lite, Bajaj Chetak 3501.
Electric 2W of the Year
How the world moves on two wheels is no longer limited to just internal combustion machines, as electrics have flooded the market with e-scooters and e-motorcycles, providing a possible picture of the future of mobility and how it is taking shape. For this year, we decided to have an independent category for electric two-wheelers, given how many we had competing against each other. The nominees for the Electric Two-Wheeler of the Year are – Kinetic Green E Luna, Ather Rizta, Ampere Nexus, BMW CE 04, BMW CE 02, VLF Tennis, Revolt RV1 and Oben Rorr EZ.
Scooter of the Year
Sharing the weight of the growing two-wheeler industry in India, scooters have become an indispensable part of personal mobility. With every household aspiring to have a scooter in their garage, there is some serious competition between internal combustion and electric-powered scooter offerings. On that note, here are the nominees of this year’s Scooter of the Year Award – TVS Jupiter, Ather Rizta, Ampere Nexus, BMW CE 04, BMW CE 02, and VLF Tennis.
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Design of the Year
In today’s world, design is a very subjective matter. With so many options, there are multiple opinions about a vehicle’s design and form. But, as last year, we have a special panel of Design Jury members who themselves are established auto designers, to evaluate all the two-wheeler models based on different parameters like – styling, proportions, size and most importantly, emotional appeal. All the contenders qualify for this category. Last year, this award was bagged by the Aprilia RS 457.
