Honda to assemble high-end bikes in India

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) will kick off its affordable high performance bikes range with the CBR 650 model which will be launched in the first half of 2015.

Currently, HMSI sells only imported motorcycles in the high-end category with prices ranging from Rs 14 lakh to Rs 31 lakh. The CBR 650 will offer an affordable performance bike and will be priced below Rs 10 lakh.

“India is still a predominantly commuter motorcycle market but we are looking to tap the higher-end, enthusiasts segment. Our aim is to make the high-end segment affordable by assembling in India,” HMSI President and CEO Keita Muramatsu is quoted by PTI as saying.

“We will launch our CBR 650 model in the first half of next year. This will be assembled in India,” he further added.

Depending on the market demand and learnings from the CBR650, HMSI will be looking to assemble more high-performance bikes in India in future.

“Manufacturing smaller bikes is completely different from assembling high-end bikes with sophisticated technologies. So, the CBR 650 is our first step to gain experience of assembling such a high-end bike in India. Once we do that, and depending on the market demand, we may consider assembling and selling more high performance bikes in India,” Muramatsu added.

Honda currently sells several high-performance motorcycles in India, including the Gold Wing 1800, VT 1300 CX, VFR 1200F, CBR 1000 RR and CB 1000R. Currently, HMSI sells about 100 units of these premium  bikes and the company is looking to increase sales further by introducing new models in the lower price band.