UM Motorcycles will be launching the Renegade range of cruisers and the Xtreet street bike in India at a price of Rs. 1-1.5 lakhs, in a joint venture with Lohia Auto.
UM Motorcycles displayed some of their two-wheelers at the 2014 Auto Expo earlier this year. The company will be launching its products here and now UM has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Lohia Auto to form UM Lohia. In UM Lohia, both the partners will have an equal stake holding. Lohia Auto currently sells electric two-wheelers in certain parts of the country along with an auto rickshaw called Humsafar. The company does seem to have some experience insights, which would be beneficial for UM Motorcycles which is completely new to the Indian market.
UM Lohia will be investing a total sum of approximately Rs. 120 crores into developing and producing two-wheelers in India. Production of the bikes will take place at Kashipur, Uttarakhand where Lohia Auto already has a production facility. The company is looking to sell their products in India as well as exporting them to other ASEAN countries, Latina America and the US. While the 200-500cc cruiser segment will be targeted first, UM Motorcycles will also manufacture their sports and touring bikes later.
UM Motorcycles will be launching four cruisers from the Renegade range, i.e. Renegade Limited, Renegade Commando, Renegade Sport and Renegade Duty along with the UM Xtreet which is a street bike as the name suggests. These bikes will be priced between Rs. 1-1.5 lakhs (ex-showroom). The pricing is not very high (as UM will rival Royal Enfield) and hence UM Lohia can expect to get a fair number of buyers if they follow a good marketing strategy. These bikes will be brought down as CKD kits and there will also be a fair amount of localisation involved.
