Big bikes new trend, major players line-up fresh launches

Big bikes seem to be driving in big sales. The niche segment is selling 3000 bikes a month and is set to grow at 25% plus annually. With big players lining up new launches, the competition is also heating up, reports CNBC-TV18's Swati Khandelwal Jain.

Bajaj Auto is riding on the success of its Kawasaki Ninja 650cc, which is seeing sales of over 2000 bikes per month. Encouraged, the company is now looking to launch its range of KTM bikes in the market soon.
Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto said, "We have sold out all the stock so far and are ready to bring in the new additions."
Garware Motors, which has also launched its 650cc GT 650N sports bike, priced at Rs 4.39 lakh, is equally bullish.
Diya Garware, managing director of Garware Motors stated, "This segment is growing very fast and we want to leverage it. Today's young and mobile Indian has a strong appetite for stylish bikes. So, we see significant potential for these bikes in India."
With competition speeding up, India's oldest motorcycle manufacturing company, Royal Enfield, is also exploring newer segments, with the idea of bigger engines and diesel variants. It is looking to upgrade to the segment of 750cc engines and above in the coming years.
"It makes sense for us to move into the 750cc twin cylinder bikes category. Many bike companies have been entering India and the competition has just begun," indicated Venkatesh Padmanabhan, chief executive officer of Royal Enfield.
The waiting period on some of Enfield's models such as the classic range is almost 12 months. It is setting up a new facility near Chennai by 2013, which will have a capacity of 150,000 units per annum.
Even BMW is planning to launch the 650cc bike at a price range of 4 to 4.5 lakh, but it is not just the 600-700cc range that is getting attention. The companies are putting in a lot of focus on the 250 to 350cc range as well, priced between 3 to 5 lakh. Also watch the accompanying video...