Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has been key player in the Indian two wheeler segment. Apart from its offering in the commuter bike and automatic scooter segment, the Japanese brand also offers high-performance motorcycles for the domestic market like Gold Wing 1800, VT 1300 CX, VFR 1200F, CBR 1000 RR and CB 1000R. For now, the sales numbers are not too huge as the company only sells about 100 units in th country.
The first one to come as an affordable offering in high performance bikes range by Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India would be the CBR 650F that shall be priced under Rs. 10 Lakhs. The upcoming Honda CBR 650F shall be powered by 649cc, 4-cylinder double overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine that is mated to a six speed gearbox. Post its launch, the company may study its demand in the domestic market before assembling other high end bikes in the country.
Speaking more on the occasion, Keita Muramatsu, HMSI President and CEO, said, “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. We will launch our CBR 650 model in the first half of next year. This will be assembled in India. 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.”
