The upcoming Honda Navi is a scooter-bike crossover which aims at creating a new segment in the 2-wheeler market. It will be unveiled at the 2016 Auto Expo.
The scooter market in India has been single handedly dominated by Honda since many years. Ever since it launched the Activa, the market lapped it up and till date the scooter gets tremendous response. But, if we look at the motorcycle market, Honda’s total sales aren’t even close to the competitors. Having tried its hand many times at increasing its market share there, it has figured out that it isn’t working well. So, they have a different strategy now.
Scooter owners have often loved scooters for their practicality but loathe them for their lack of comfort and flick-ability when compared to bikes. Honda is trying to bridge this gap by introducing a scooter-bike crossover. The project is codenamed K74 and the name for the masses is Navi. The Japanese automaker teased the name a few weeks ago and spoke about the new vehicle’s unveil at the 2016 Auto Expo. Whether it will be unveiled in concept form or in a production-ready guise remains to be seen.
The Honda Navi is said to be different from the step-through scooters which are common in Southeast Asian markets. It will share its 110c engine and other mechanicals with the Activa and will be produced at the company’s plant in Manesar. The major driver for its success will be the way it looks as Indians are very conscious about their vehicle’s aesthetics. If it looks good and offers something additional over the current crop of scooters, this may be another game changer for the Japanese brand.
At the 2016 Auto Expo, Honda will have ten models on display out of which six will be the ones to be launched in India and four will be in concept form. The highlight of the pavilion is supposed to be the Navi considering its marketing started at the beginning of this month itself. The production of the new model is rumoured to be capped at one lakh units per annum but if it is accepted well by the market, the production will be ramped up.
Source – ETAuto.com
