Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) is set to launch an all new bike in the Dream series by mid-2014. Currently at the second position behind Hero MotoCorp in terms of sales, the company has focused all of its resources on bringing commuter motorcycles to the market, in order to achieve volumes. The new motorcycle will be a premium commuter bike that will sit on top of the Dream Yuga and Dream Neo with innovative features and equipment added to the list.
The latest Dream bike from Honda is expected with the same 109cc single-cylinder, air-cooled, SI engine producing 8.4 PS of power as seen on the other bikes. The new bike will carry a host of changes which include improved body design, graphics, alloy wheels, optional disc brake, digital console and tubeless tyres. The bike will offer new features to take on the competition and is expected to be priced between Rs. 50,000 – 55,000 (ex-showroom) when launched.
Honda is betting big on the Indian market and has a Rs. 1100 crore plant in the works that will be setup in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to be operational by 2015. The new plant is expected to have an initial production capacity of 12 lakh vehicles per year and will boost Honda’s annual capacity to 58 lakh units by 2015-16. With that kind of investment involved, the company’s focus has to be on volumes and the new generation of commuter motorcycles will give the Japanese manufacturer the needed boost in the two-wheeler market to capture the number one position from Hero.
Honda is also planning to work on locally producing its high capacity motorcycles in the country at a later stage. The comany announced that the CBR650F will be locally assembled and sold in the country by 2016. This year, Honda’s new offerings, the Activa 125 scooter and the new Dream commuter motorcycle are set to bring in the volumes. However, Hero MotoCorp too has something planned to take on Honda’s new products that will make it difficult for the Japanese comany to get the coveted number one position. The battle is sure to get interesting in the coming months. What say you?
Source – Zigwheels.com