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Here’s some big news for all those who’ve been cribbing about the lack of a 400cc bike in India. KTM has officially announced that the company plans to launch a 350cc bike (yeah, we’re still not there but close) in India after it introduces us to the KTM 200 Duke at the Auto Expo 2012. “During the Delhi Auto Expo next year, we will be launching the first 200-cc Duke bike in India,” said Stefan Pierer, CEO of KTM Sportmotorcycle AG.
The bike which was jointly developed by Bajaj and KTM in India, with a 125cc version already being exported to some European countries is being eagerly awaited in the Indian market. We have managed to take some exclusive spy pictures of the 200CC KTM Duke, on some earlier occasions. These pictures can be found here and here. The bike will produced at Bajaj’s Chakan plant near Pune.
Revealing some more vital info on the 200 Duke, Stefan said that the company plans to sell 25,000 to 20,000 units of the bike in India in the first year. This comes to a minimum of 2000 units a month, which is quite an optimistic target, keeping in view the fact that in the first look the KTM is expected to be a more upmarket and more expensive bike than the CBR250R, which has a wider appeal.
“We expect to sell 25,000 to 30,000 units in India in the first year of launch. After one year, we will launch the 350-cc Duke in India” said Stefan, sending out a heartening piece of info for the country’s biking enthusiasts.
The KTM 125 Duke is doing reasonably good number in the European market, where it has sold nearly 7,000 units. The company is targeting to sell about 10,000 units in Europe this year.
The models produced in India, including the 200 and 350cc models will be global models. KTM is looking to export its models from the Bajaj facility to other emerging markets like Thailand, Malaysia, and Brazil.
Great bit of news there, isn’t it! So how many of you are postponing your buying decisions?