Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has had an aggressive growth path for itself in the fast-growing bike segment. It now plans to launch a 100cc bike by December and introduce five more models in three years with the objective of en cashing on the growing opportunities in the bike market.

Talking about the proposed move and confirming the same Mr. Naresh Kumar Rattan, operating head, Sales & Marketing, HMSI, said, “The bike segment is a good business for us and we would be focusing on it. We expect to grow in the bike space by 25% by next year.” He declined to reveal the details of the new models and the segments they would be considered. “We cannot speak about our upcoming products now.”

HMSI is renowned in India for the Honda Activa, its gearless scooter. The intention now is to have a significant presence in the bike segment where it is a marginal player. The company presently offers three bikes namely Unicorn, Shine and Stunner. In the year 2008-09, HMSI has sold over five lakh bikes which is up 40% from 2007-08. Overall, HMSI sold 10.7 lakh two-wheelers (bikes and scooters) during FY09. The company has now set itself a target to produce 12.5 lakh two wheelers for 2009-10.

HMSI has very recently entered the fun bike segment with the launch of the CBR 1000RR Fireblade and CB1000R models which are at the higher end segment. These are in the Rs 9.5-12.5 lakh price range. The company also has plans to increase its dealership and branches. With the intention to grow in the bike segment, HMSI will be up against Hero Honda where Honda is a joint venture partner.

Hero Honda is presently the biggest player in the bike segment with a 40% market share. Though HMSI officials say their existing models and those in the pipeline are not in the same segment as that of Hero Honda’s, they will compete for the same customer.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two wheelers constitute three-fourths of the total number of vehicles sold in the domestic market. Hero Honda is the market leader and is followed by Bajaj and TVS in the domestic market. HMSI is one of the major players in the automatic gear scooter segment. HMSI, on Tuesday, launched a 110cc variant of Honda Activa for the Western market.

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Posted by Amrith K.A on 24 April, 2009 5:48:48 PM IST #