How phones on EMI are driving loan demand for two-wheelers

MUMBAI: Consumer durable loans, such as those for buying a mobile phone on EMI, are helping lenders build credit histories for younger borrowers, contributing to a decline in two-wheeler loan delinquencies to a seven-year low of 1.4% in June 2026 from 2.7% in June 2019, according to TransUnion Cibil.First-time borrowers accounted for 39% of two-wheeler loan originations in the first half of 2026, down 19 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, 43% of borrowers had more than two years of formal credit history, up from 27% in 2019. Another 18% had less than two years of credit history, indicating more than 60% of borrowers had an established credit record, according to TU Cibil's latest report, Shifting Gears 2026: Credit Drives Today's Mobility.Consumption-led borrowing has contributed to this shift. Nearly a third of two-wheeler borrowers had consumption credit products in their credit histories in the first half of 2026, up from 22% in the corresponding period of 2019. Consumer durable loans featured in the histories of 18% of borrowers and gold loans in 16%, credit cards in 12% and agriculture-related credit products in 8%.NBFCs held 73% of outstanding two-wheeler loans.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.