The probability of spotting a big bike on Indian roads has increased significantly over the past few years. The high cubic capacity market, comprising of motorcycles of 500cc and above, in India has grown several folds over the last half a decade. In fact, the market, in the last one year itself, has grown by over 50 percent and industry experts believe that it is likely to grow by over 100 percent in next five years. A huge chunk of this segment is dominated by Royal Enfield and Harley Davidson who rule nearly 60-65% of the bike bike market.
The reasons for the rise in sales of expensive bikes is mainly due to three reasons: rise in spending power due to higher disposable income, increase in awareness about international brands and upwardly mobile and image consciousness. The availability of new products is another reason for such rise in sales of these premium machines. While some manufacturers were already present in the country, more and more companies are flocking in to grab a chunk of the ever growing market.
Kawasaki has been present in the Indian market for quite some time with its Ninja 250R, the Japanese two-wheeler major recently updated its product portfolio in the subcontinent and introduced a slew of top end performance motorcycles into the country. Kawasaki currently retails the Ninja 300, Ninja 650, Ninja 1000, Ninja ZX-10R, Ninja ZX-14R, Z800, Z1000, Versys 1000 and the new Ninja H2 in the Indian market.
Other Japanese manufacturers like Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda have been present in the lower cubic capacity segment but are now extending their vehicle line up for the Indian market with their flagship products. Yamaha recently launched the 2015 variants of its flagship superbikes, YZF-R1 and YZF-R1M in the Indian market while recent reports suggest that Suzuki will soon bring in its GSX S1000 and S1000F into the country.
Other manufacturers to have arrived on the Indian soil in the recent years are Indian Motorcycles, Harley Davidson, Triumph Motorcycles, Ducati, Benelli, Aprilia, BMW Motorrad and Moto Guzzi.
In an interview to ET Auto, Vimal Sumbly, MD, Triumph India said, “The 500cc plus segment has grown exponentially from a mere 450 units in 2008-09 to 3,500 units in 2013-14. In the year 2014-15, the market should hit around 9,500 units and is expected to at least double to 20,000 units by 2020.”
Source: ET Auto