Friday, October 05, 2012

SUPERBIKES IN INDIA: GROWTH TREND

The Superbike Segment in India is beginning to open up as Incumbents and New Entrants fill up gaps in The Market. B&E’s Sanchit Verma does a Quick Stopgap Review before the Number Game Begins
 
“There were around 1000 super premium bikes sold in 2009 and 2009-10 is going above at the rate of 20% and the reason for it is that the GDP growth rate is about 9% for the youth population and that too, a well earning youth population,” says Sanjay Tripathi, Director of Marketing, Harley-Davidson India. The latest buzz is that BMW would be announcing their motorrad luxury bikes by the end of the year, which will start with a price tag of whopping Rs.1.8 million. Hendrik von Kuenheim, General Director, BMW Motorrad, commented, “We are confident that our motorcycles and will swiftly become established in timely preparation for the growing market.” BMW, which made its successful entry into the Indian market with its luxury cars, seems confident about their reentry into the the luxury bike market after the failed launch of BMW Fundaro 650. The luxury market currently stands at 1% of the overall market. A spokesperson from Honda 2 wheelers comments, “Last year, we sold around 70 units across India with only two operational setups in Delhi & Mumbai. This year, we plan to sell 100 units.”

Most of these superbikes are at such hefty prices that the rational minded would prefer buying quality four wheelers for that kind of money. But superbikes are not expected to sell on the rational appeal in India as much as they would for the thrill and the oomph factor, to those with huge disposable incomes. Globally, the scenario is different as bikes are only used for special occasions or sports. But in India, motorcycles have become a regular mode of commuting. One would doubt that the masses would actually be able to enjoy the experience of these bikes on Indian roads. But fanatics have gone through thick and thin to get them nevertheless – be it by paying heavy import duties of about 113% for unregistered bikes and about 153% for registered vehicles – facing government issues like getting it passed through ARAI and also attaching a ‘Sarre guard’ and ‘front plate no.’ to make it legal.

On another front, while traditionally, Indian players have offered bikes in the 90cc to 250cc range (with Enfield the exception with a 500cc offering), the next level starts only with an 883cc Harley-Davidson or a 1000cc CBR. Recently, the gap has been filled by Garware Motors, which announced Hyosung’s re-entry in India with a 650 cc superbike, which is currently under Homologation process. “Beyond the 250cc segment, only the Royal Enfield was available with 350cc and 500cc and after that, the only models available are 1 ltr plus. So we thought we would fill in the gap,” predictably accepts Diya Garware, MD, Garware Motors.

With Aprilla, MV Augusta and BMW Motorrad currently in talks with a local importers and companies like Harley and Hyosung planning their CKD units, it seems that the sector is well on its way to opening up and more such gaps should be filled, taking the superbike exhilaration to a larger audience. Like other sectors, players would ultimately learn to adapt to Indian price sensitivities and penetrate deeper in the market. And then the next big demand from this growing superbike community could well be relaxation of speed limits on Indian roads. That may take quite a while though.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
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