In the Indian two-wheeler sector, cross badging or badge engineering is steadily gaining popularity. Bike makers are launching products at a faster rate as a part of their attempt to balance two crucial factors, the increasing product development cost and the need to break even quickly and save money. The manufacturers achieve breakeven point and save on expenses by spreading the overall cost of development and engineering over a large number of models.
Honda Stunner and Hero Ignitor; Honda Unicorn and Hero Hunk, Honda Activa and Hero Maestro are some of the badge engineered two wheelers selling in India. In order to maximise sales, these bikes use shared engine or technology from Honda. Vice President for Sales, Marketing, Planning & Corporate Affairs, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), NK Rattan, said, “In large markets there is diversification of demand and for better scale of economy, bike makers are cross badging."
According to Rattan, apart from some exterior changes, the basic engines are kept same. Although basic needs like price and fuel efficiency remain unchanged, customers get variety from differentiated products, he added.
Badge engineering is quite popular among car companies as well. Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Fabia; Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid; Renault Pulse and Nissan Micra; and the yet-to-be-launched Skoda Citigo and Volkswagen Up! are all badge engineered cars.
In case of Badge engineering of a car, only a new badge is added along with some minor exterior changes, while no changes are made in the vehicle mechanically. This process is totally different from platform sharing, where exteriors and interiors are different but components are shared.
According to Marc Nassif, Managing Director, Renault India, "We are not averse to badge engineering as it helps minimise costs and lead times. Sharing of components, powertrains and platforms are a very common practice globally and the Renault Nissan Alliance helps us leverage multiple platforms across a varied product line for both the companies resulting in economies of scale. We will see a lot more badge engineering than we have so far specially with so many global players coming in."
He further stated that in order to introduce some products that are based on a common platform, the company has taken the advantage of this opportunity. As per reports, a common platform, cross badging and components are used by Renault-Nissan alliance to develop two different cars with opposite styling cues and unique designs to fit variegated demographic segments for example Renault Pulse has a more muscular appeal, while its sibling Nissan Micra has feminine appeal.
