It is no secret that lower displacement motorcycles consitute a major chunk of market volume. That is the reason you see Hero MotoCorp dominating the sales chart, while Bajaj Auto who once shunned the 100cc segment, has made a return. Now Honda too is aggressively targeting the entry level segment. DSK Hyosung, whose lowest capacity bike in India is the GT250R (250cc) is planning to enter 125cc and 150cc segments, in order to tap a large section of buyers. This move will help the Indian Korean joint venture company to tap an entirely new segment of customers.
This move was quite expected as Hyosung doesn’t have the same fan following as Kawasaki or Harley-Davidson, its chief rivals. By entering lower displacement segments, Hyosung will be rivalling mass market players like Honda, Bajaj and Hero MotoCorp. Details about these upcoming single-cylinder bikes are still sketchy, but one can expect them to hit showrooms by 2016. Currently Hyosung doesn’t sell any bike in India with a single-cylinder engine layout. A twin-cylinder engine increases costs drastically.
DSK Motowheels has a CKD facility in Wai, near Pune. The company is planning to set up another plant which will be used to manufacture these mass market motorcycles. Thus local production will lead to higher cost savings as it is imperative to price motorcycles very aggressively in the volume segment. The company will export these commuter segment bikes to other parts of the world. It remains to be seen what direction DSK Hyosung take with the design and specifications of the 125cc and 150cc motorcycles.
