Honda mulls local assembly of performance bikes in India

Last month we had reported that Japanese two-wheeler major Honda is planning to assemble the CBR 650F in India from 2015. However, the company is still considering whether it would be assembled from semi-knocked down or completely knocked down imported form. The bike will have a 4-cylinder engine and is expected to be launched in the first half of 2015.

Annually, about 3,000 units of high-end bikes are sold in the country and sub-Rs.10 lakh offerings account for the majority of the sales. Honda is therefore, likely to price the CBR 650F under Rs. 10 lakh.

Honda has now revealed that if the CBR 650F receives a favourable response in the Indian market, it will consider assembling more performance bikes in the country. The company's performance motorcycle line-up in India consists of the CB1000R, CBR1000RR, VFR 1200F, VT 1300CX and Gold Wing 1800. All of these are imported as CBUs and cost between Rs. 14 lakh and Rs. 31 lakh. About 100 units of these bikes is sold annually. Local assembly will enable the company to cut the price of the motorcycles significantly, which in turn, is expected to help boost the sales figures.

Source: Economic Times