Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited entered India in 2006, and has been manufacturing motorcycles and scooters in the mass volume segments. With an aim to have a product at every price point, the company is expanding its portfolio of two-wheelers with a mix of exciting, frugal and powerful offerings.
What is the strategy behind the introduction of Let’s scooter and Gixxer motorcycle?
Gixxer is a flagship 150cc motorcycle, and will be positioned above the existing GS150R motorcycle. Gixxer is a sporty motorcycle with an edgy styling. Let’s, at the other end, is a gearless scooter with a 112cc engine. It is aimed at the young people. The strategy behind these two products is to have a product at every price point. Suzuki Motorcycle India is strongly committed to India, and aspires to double its market share.
Both the products follow hot on the heels of the Inazuma?
Unlike the Gixxer and the Let’s, Inazuma is the first CKD import. It is a premium 250cc motorcycle with a good amount of components borrowed from the big Suzuki bikes. If the Gixxer is a sporty 150cc motorcycle, the Inazuma is a twin-cylinder proper, full-sized motorcycle. It makes an engineering package that complements the naked chassis appeal with innovative design. Some of the engineering elements on the Inazuma are lifted directly from the big bikes.
The three products come at a time when the market conditions are challenging…
The auto industry is facing a challenge. We expect two wheeler sales to remain flat. The only silver lining is scooters. Scooter population is rising. We at Suzuki Motorcycle India think that growth will remain flat in the short term, and competition will become even more intense. Our focus will be to bring out relevant products for Indian consumers. We are estimating a 3 per cent growth in the next fiscal.
Your product portfolio includes big bikes too.
We have the Hayabusa, Intruder, GSX R1000 and the Bandit. These are CBUs, and to be frank, we have never promoted them. We have sold a fair number of Bandits in India. We do about 12000 CBU units per year – 25 to 26 units per month. These are for the brand image. Our focus is on products up to 250cc. On offering value packed products. Both, the Let’s and the Gixxer will come with a new, advanced SEP technology.
So SEP technology is a part of your strategy to offer value packed products?
SEP stands for Suzuki Eco Performance. It is an engine technology that boasts top-class fuel efficiency without compromising power and performance. The engineers at Suzuki developed this revolutionary technology by reducing mechanical losses, through efficient design of every component, and attention to detail in the manufacturing process.
You are investing in expanding your network and production facilities.
We have increased our production capacity to 5.4 lakh units from 4 lakh units this (2013) year. We are keen to reach 1 million sales target in the next 26 months. We are therefore expanding our dealer network. We are increasing our dealers from the current 300 to 400. We are also increasing our touch points from the current 600 to 1000.
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