Infographics 2023

Motorbikes and TV sets dominate consumer durable ownership

Rajesh Shukla

While car ownership signifies affluence in most nations, in India, the motorcycle is the symbol of an upwardly mobile Indian household. While the proportion of Destitute households that own a bicycle is significantly large (63 percent), almost 34 percent of such households own a two-wheeler (moped motorcycle or scooter). For Aspirer and Middle-Class households, this percentage is 47 percent and 70 percent respectively. Even among Rich households, 75 percent own a two-wheeler (mostly luxury motorbike) compared to 100 percent who own a car. Television and refrigerators are the consumer durable goods that are commonly found in a majority of households – at an all-India level, the percentage of TV and refrigerator-owning households is 78 percent and 47 percent, respectively. While fewer Destitute households (21 percent) own a refrigerator, this percentage is almost double (39 percent) for the next group. Penetration of refrigerators in Middle Class and Rich households has reached 77 percent and 87 percent, respectively. There is a much lower penetration for products such as air conditioners.