Harley Davidson’s Indian Team Announced
According to a report by leading auto magazine BIKE INDIA 3 months after the official entry, Harley Davidson India has revealed its core members for India. After announcing its arrival in India Harley-Davidson is ready with its core team for an initiation in the Indian market. This new team consists of people like Sanjay Tripathi who has been in the Indian motorcycle industry for quite some time and is well aware of the likes and dislikes of the discerning Indian riders. He has been appointed as the director of Marketing.
Other experienced members include Rajiv Vohra - Director of sales and dealer development, who has worked with Honda Siel earlier. Yogesh Phogat, former BMW India employee, is appointed as the company's director of operations and finally Manish Agarwal who will be handling the financial department of HD India. With a team of industry experts HD is surely here to capture the hearts of Indian riders.
Bajaj XCD 125 Has Been Discontinued
It is farewell time for the Bajaj XCD 125 , the executive commuter bike that was launched way back in September 2007. This is the second bike that the Pune-based manufacturer has phased out in the last three months, the first being the Pulsar 200 DTS-i.
The reason behind this move was to make way for the slightly bigger and more powerful XCD 135 which was launched way back in February this year. Bajaj decided to pull the plug on the smaller model when its sales dipped below 20000 units a month as compared to the 50000 units expected of it by the company. In contrast, the XCD 135 sold 10,000 units in the first two weeks after its launch.
Commenting on this move, a Mumbai-based analyst stated "Bajaj had launched too many models in the market without many differentiating factors between the bikes. The company always had the option to lower or even completely stop the production of one bike and increase the other, depending on the demand". The company is now planning to concentrate only on the Discover and Pulsar brand in the entry to premium segment while containing the Platina and Avenger within these core groups.
[Via: BIKE Magazine]
Sales Figures For Bikes – October 2009
Bajaj Auto reported a 52.38% increase in its motorcycle sales in October 2009, at 249,681 units, as against 163,850 units in October last year. This includes 127 units of the Kawasaki Ninja 250R sportsbike, which the company launched in India during October this year. Bajaj's total two-wheeler sales (including scooters) also increased by 51.06% in October this year, at 249,974 units, as compared with 165,477 units in October 2008.
Exports went up by 11.88%, to 84,012 units in October 2009, from 75,092 units in October 2008. Total vehicle sales (including commercial vehicles) of the company in October 2009 stood at 280,455 units, as compared with 191,840 units in October 2008.
Hero Honda reported a marginal increase in October 2009 sales, at 354,156 units, as against 352,449 units in October 2008.
TVS reported a 12% increase in sales during October 2009, at 131,000 units, as against 117,000 units in the year-ago period. In the domestic market, TVS sales were up 18% at 118,000 units, as against 100,000 units in October 2008. Scooter sales were up 20%, at 28,301 units in October 2009, as against 23,487 units during October 2008.
However, TVS' total motorcycle sales declined, with the company selling 56,465 units in October 2009 as against 59,217 units in October 2008. Exports also went down, registering 12,466 units in Oct 2009 as against 17,013 units in October 2008.
India Yamaha Motor registered an increase of 44% in sales during October 2009, at 26,879 units, as against 18,614 units in October 2008.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Hero Honda Hunk & Splendor+ Special Edition
Festive seasons are considered an auspicious time for vehicle purchases and Hero Honda knows the importance of the festive season. After the recent launch of the new Karizma ZMR they have announced two new variants of their existing models - the Hunk and the Splendor+ which by the way has sold over one crore unit!
The Hunk that is targeted at the youngsters with its muscular looks now in its new avatar features special Macho Ebony Grey colour treatment which is carried over to the rear grab handles, side cover, foot rest & handle bar, and has body-coloured rear view mirrors along with contemporary stickering on the fuel tank and the raging bull insignia on the tank shrouds it now also features red coloured rear shock absorber springs.
The Splendor has been Hero Honda's highest and oldest selling bike which now boasts of new-look graphics, gold colour treatment for Splendor+ emblem on side cover and Hero Honda logo on fuel tank, visor and console. The Special Edition Splendor+ features the all black engine, alloy wheels, and front fork among many other changes. But true to its tradition of assigning designers more work than their 'busy' R&D lads the world's largest two wheeler manufacturer has yet again made no mechanical upgrades to these bikes whatsoever.
[Via: BIKE-India]
Tyre Prices Shooting Up In India
There has been an increase in the prices of the car tyes. And the 7 per cent increase for the tyre price is because of the high demand and low supply. The car owners actually need not spend an extra 5 to 7 per cent. But it is the carmaker who needs to shell out an additional cost of Rs.800 for a new tyre for every new car they sell.
A deficiency of tyres in the market has become the reason for decrease of inventories at tyre makers to just 5-7 days from 20-25 days. And this is seriously affecting car manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors, General Motors India and Ford India. There isn't any clear information on how much are the carmakers affected by this situation.
"There is a demand-supply mismatch. While production has increased in the past few weeks, the supply of tyres has not kept pace, resulting into shortages. We have asked tyre companies to augment supplies but that has not happened yet," a senior executive at Tata Motors said.
Auto makers assume that tyre companies are charging arbitrary prices. But the tyre makers are of the opinion that they are trying to meet the demand despite production constraints.
"Tyres are a capital-intensive industry and there has been no major capacity addition in a year due to slowdown in the market and economic recession. While sales have jumped in recent months, production has not increased to that level, leading to shortages," said a senior executive of a tyre company on condition of anonymity. It is expected that the price will be dropped once the festival season is over and the demand for cars come down.
Kawasaki Ninja 250R coming on 7th October
Bajaj India has announced the launch date for much awaited Kawasaki Ninja 250R , it is going to be launched on 7th October and deliveries will start before diwali. Kawasaki Bajaj's Official Website is also up and runnung. But it is not going to compete with R15 and Karizma ZMR because of its price which will be around 1.60-1.90 lakhs.
It is an entry level sports motorcycle with a fairing made further as if an actual off-road sports bike. Bajaj along with Kawasaki will be marketing it in India and is soon expected to be seen in the market in Bajaj Pro biking showrooms. Bajaj will import the Ninja250R in CKD form from Thailand to save on custom duties.
Kawasaki has marketed the Ninja 250R since 1986 as an entry-level sport motorcycle intended for use on paved roads. The bike is marketed in the US as the Ninja 250R, as the ZX250 in the UK, and as the GPX250 elsewhere.
[Via: BIKEINDIA]
Kawasaki Ninja Launch On 5th October
Bajaj India has announced the launch date for much awaited Kawasaki Ninja 250R , it is going to be launched on 5th October and deliveries will start before diwali. But it is not going to compete with R15 and Karizma ZMR because of its price which will be around 1.60 -1.90 lakhs.
Kawasaki has marketed the Ninja 250R since 1986 as an entry-level sport motorcycle intended for use on paved roads. The bike is marketed in the US as the Ninja 250R, as the ZX250 in the UK, and as the GPX250 elsewhere.
It is an entry level sports motorcycle with a fairing made further as if an actual off-road sports bike. Bajaj along with Kawasaki will be marketing it in India and is soon expected to be seen in the market in Bajaj Pro biking showrooms.
New Karizma ZMR Launched
New Karizma ZMR has been making a lot of news in automotive market since some photos of Karizma in white shade leaked on net. Now Hero Honda has finally launched the much awaited tourer bike - New Karizma ZMR Fi in Indian Market.
The stance remains the same as the old Karizma which is still considered to be the best touring bike in India with smooth, refined and relaxed Honda engine at the helm. The major and much needed change is addition of programmed fuel injection (PGM-Fi) in the engine. Additionally it also gets disc brake at the rear, gas charged rear shock absorbers, little increase in power and torque.
List Of New Features in Karizma ZMR Fi:
- Full Fairing
- Split Clip On Handle Bars
- Split rear grab rails
- New Shades
- PGM-FI (Programmable Fuel Injection)
- Mirrors mounted on the fairing
- New rear mud guard
- New headlamp and tail lamp which is now LED
- Rear Disc Brakes
- Bank Angle Sensor
- Turn Indicators Mounted On Front Fairing
- Oil Cooler
- New Graphics
- Slightly reprofiled body work
- Gas Charged Shock Absorbers
New Hero Honda Karizma Fi has been priced at Rs. 91,000 (Ex-Showroom New Delhi) which is on the higher side in comparison to Bajaj Pulsar 220 which comes almost 20,000 cheaper and is more powerful in comparison to Karizma Fi.
Yamaha V-Max Launched alongwith 3 limited edition variants of FZ Series
Yamaha Motors India has launched the 2009 model of V-Max in Indian market. V-Max is priced at Rs. 20,00,000 (Ex-Showroom New Delhi).
Today, along with V-Max Yamaha also launched 3 limited edition variants of FZ Series:
- FZ16 Limited Edition
- FZS Limited Edition
- Fazer Limited Edition
Limited Edition FZ variants are similar in term of engine and technology - the only change is that they come in all new diamond white shade with combination of blue. All 3 are available with white finish alloy wheels.
Powering the 2009 VMAX is an all-new 1679cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke DOHC 65 degree V4 engine which has been designed to offer an unforgettable acceleration experience created by higher levels of power, and an imposing design. The engine develops maximum power of 194 Bhp at 9000 rpm with maximum torque of 170 Nm at 6500 rpm.