With Hyosung planning to make India its global manufacturing hub for international and domestic markets, the high priced GT250R will see around a lakh shaved off its price tag.
With reports coming of Hyosung and its Indian partner DSK Motowheels heading towards a joint venture for fully manufacturing the South Korean company’s bikes in the country, the road seems pretty optimistic from here for a range of Hyosung models that will see drastic reduction in prices. Most significantly affected of the lot will be the GT250R quarter-litre bike that will see a massive reduction in prices of up to Rs. 1 lakh and could just make it the most affordable twin-cylinder quarter-litre in the country.
The Hyosung GT250R is powered by a 249cc oil-cooled, V-Twin engine that is tuned to produce 28 BHP of power and 22.07 Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed gearbox. Competing against the Kawasaki Ninja 300, KTM RC 390, Honda CBR250R and the likes, the GT250R is currently priced at Rs. 3.02 lakhs (ex-showroom, Mumbai) making it more expensive than the RC 390 and the CBR250R while a cheaper alternative to the Ninja 300. With local manufacturing though, the prices will be close to the Rs. 2 lakh mark making it a lucrative buy against the Honda in the same price bracket.
DSK’s Wai plant that currently assembles the Hyosung range for India is said to be expanded to handle full fledged manufacturing for the latter. With the plant once in place, Hyosung will not only be able to address the Indian market more aggressively with ease of maintenance and readily available spares; but will also expand to newer markets with bikes shipped from the Indian plant. There have been no official announcements as yet from DSK or Hyosung, but we do hope to hear from the company very soon along with a timeline for the localisation to commence.
