The Honda CB Unicorn 150 will continue to be manufactured in the country for export markets where the bike continues to be a popular offering.
A decade after it went on sale, Honda India has officially discontinued the very popular CB Unicorn 150 in the Indian two-wheeler market. The Unicorn 150 has now been replaced by the newly launched CB Unicorn 160 that has received a positive response from the market. Honda dealerships across the country had stopped taking bookings for the Unicorn 150 last month and only a few dealers with unsold stock were able to provide the model. The bike will continue to be produced at the Japanese giant’s Indian facility but restricted to export markets only.
The move surely does not come as a surprise since the Honda CB Unicorn 150 was in the market for a long time now. Despite launching the better looking CB Dazzler (discontinued) and CB Trigger models above the Unicorn in the past, the popularity of the no-nonsense commuter refused to diminish and the bike continued to show strong sales as ever. Discontinuing the Unicorn 150 could also be Honda’s trick to push its other 150cc segment products that are yet to match up to the Unicorn’s popularity.
The 2015 Honda CB Unicorn 160 though is a perfect replacement to the original model. Reprising the Unicorn brand name, the bike comes with the same understated looks and an ultra-refined 163.2cc motor that is tuned to produce 14.5 PS of power and 14.6 Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed gearbox. The bike also gets an all-digital instrument cluster, Combi-Braking System (CBS) for better stopping power and Honda Eco-Technology (HET) for improved fuel efficiency.
With the CB Unicorn 150 no more for sale, Honda’s 150cc lineup comprises of the CB Unicorn 160, CB Trigger and the CBR150R motorcycles. It needs to be seen now if the manufacturer will also discontinue the CB Trigger in the future with sales never been a strong point of the bike and is priced too closely to the new Unicorn 160. The move will also help improve production capacity for the Unicorn 160 in a bid to address the demand more effectively.
Source – ZigWheels.com