Two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Friday said the commuter segment — 100cc/ 125cc market — is not growing as desired as sales are more limited to rural areas than the urban areas.
But the market is improving for the segment and better numbers are expected, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice-President - Sales and Marketing, HMSI, said here on the sidelines of the launch of CB300R.
“The overall sentiment has slightly improved in the industry. There has been a shift towards the low-price segment…it is a segment which is at less than ₹45,000 and is coming from the rural areas, so the growth is limited,” he said.
“We are not going to change our strategy saying the ‘market is going down’…we are quite confident that if the service industry index improves, there will be revival in the demand, even in the urban cities,” he said.
He said even in the scooters market, the market has been sluggish because young customers like students are not buying the products. But, on the other hand, a lot of start-ups that operate in the leasing or shared bike-taxi sectors are buying the products, he said.
Meanwhile, the auto major is enhancing its presence in the middle weight premium two-wheelers segment under its ‘Silver Wing’ mark, in line with its global strategy, he said.
The company launched the CB300R motorcycle priced at ₹2.41 lakh (ex-showroom, pan India). HMSI will also look at introducing a sales network for the new range. The CB300R will be available in the market from March-end.
“The mass segment is very important, but at the same point, we need to start some seeding activities in this segment. This is an exciting segment for sure,” Guleria said.
The CB300R is inspired from its powerful sibling CB 1000R Neo Sports Cafe, which was originally showcased at the Tokyo Motor show 2017.
“With a legacy spanning four continents, CB300R is the great introduction for new riders to brand Honda's engineering prowess, design philosophy and high build quality,” Minoru Kato, President and Chief Executive Officer, HMSI, said.
The new motorcycle is powered by 286cc DOHC four-valve liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine with PGM-FI technology that pulls smoothly in town and delivers strong performance on the highways.