Suzuki India likely to introduce six premium motorcycles and scooters in the next three years

Team OD Updated: November 13, 2019, 07:46 PM IST

Satoshi Uchida, managing director of Suzuki Motorcycle India acknowledged that the Indian two-wheeler market is an important space for the manufacturer. Out of all the two million two-wheelers sold in the country, Suzuki motorcycle contributed by selling 6,70,000 units in the last fiscal year.

For now, the company has decided to focus more on higher-capacity, premium motorcycles to steer clear of the government's possible decision to ban the sale of two-wheelers under 150cc engine capacity in the future. This could mean the Indian market could get higher capacity scooters i.e the Suzuki Burgman Street 150. This also gives some weight to the rumours of Suzuki V-Strom 250 to be offered in India given that the adventure touring segment has received attention from many manufacturers, these include the Royal Enfield Himalayan, BMW G 310 GS and the soon expected KTM 390 Adventure.

Picture of the Suzuki V-Strom 250 for reference

Suzuki also exports motorcycles to international markets. "We have a very big advantage on cost. If something is accepted in India, that means price-wise we can utilise it for the whole of the world," said Uchida. "Even Japan is eager to get more India-made models," he added. This means that higher capacity motorcycles such as the Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT and GSX-S750 could now be locally manufactured.

Suzuki Motorcycle India recorded a growth in sales amidst the ongoing sales slowdown, however, Uchida expects the sales to take a slight dip because of the soon expected price hike in the BSVI era.

Suzuki's Gurgaon facility can manufacture one million two-wheelers annually. Given the sales slowdown, the manufacturer has paused its plan to set up a second manufacturing plant. The plans are in the initial stages and the company is still looking for a land parcel for the second plant. The construction will begin once the market steadies, Uchida added.

Source - ETAuto