Suzuki brings in the Slingshot!

The latest entrant in the highly populated 125cc segment in the country is the new Suzuki Slingshot 125 motorcycle. Targeted at the econo-style conscious buyers of today, the Slingshot will ply in the mass-market segment in India, which has shown solid growth in the past fiscal year. The 125cc class offers a big-bike feel and style of a premium motorcycle with the fuel efficiency of a 100cc entry-level motorcycle. This balance is what appeals to a lot of young Indian buyers who aspire for more than just commuting in a motorcycle. The Suzuki Slingshot is aimed at similar consumers and it is well-equipped to charm them.

Suzuki India has given the Slingshot styling similar to Suzuki's international range of street-bikes with aggressive design language and it will be available in four appealing colours. Slingshot comes with sporty looking alloy wheels as well as very stylish body panels and a mean-looking bikini fairing upfront. The bike is powered by a 125cc air-cooled single cylinder engine that is frugal in nature and comes with the 'pulsed-secondary air-injection (PAIR)' system for improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions. Competitively priced at Rs. 43,945 (ex-showroom Delhi), the Suzuki Slingshot rivals the Bajaj Platina 125, the Hero Honda Glamour and the Honda Shine.

According to Suzuki Motorcycle India Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Atul Gupta, "Our new offering is a complete package in terms of style, comfort, performance and practicality-all combined in a 125 cc bike."  Mr. Katsumi Takata, Chairman, Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd further added, "We are aggressively expanding our production capacity to 5.40 lakh units from 2.50 lakh units by 2012. We have so far invested around Rs. 450 Crore this year and another Rs. 50 Crore will be invested in enhancing the capacity. The total investment will be around Rs. 500 Crore."