They combine signature looks with brute power and speed. Every man fantasises about them and every girl may want her man to own one of them.
Welcome to the world of luxury bikes or super bikes which seem to be finally accelerating into the next gear in India.Brands such as Harley Davidson, Triumph, Kawasaki, Hyosung and Royal Enfield are seeing a rush of young, affluent Indians into their showrooms as appetite to own such snazzy bikes is on the rise in the second largest two wheeler market in the world.
Expensive price tags on these machines (the government slaps heavy duty on these imported bikes) don’t seem to be a deterrent. There is a 75 per cent customs duty on imported bikes (completely built units) with above 800 cc engine capacity. However, global brands are also investing in completely knocked down (CKD) kits assembly facilities to attract lower duties and offer products at cheaper prices. Under CKD mode, companies can import the bikes in parts and assemble the same in local unit.
The market for these bikes in India has been seeing a steady rise over the last two years with almost every global brand joining the luxury bike bandwagon with the launch of their products. These bikes (above 250cc) are sold in the price range from a couple of lakhs to about Rs.30 lakh.
During the first half of the current fiscal, volumes in the above 250 cc segment grew by 80 per cent to 1.59 lakh units (accounting for about three per cent of overall motorcycle volumes in India) when compared with 88,200 units in the year-ago period. Sales of above 500 cc bikes reported a stunning growth with volumes zooming to 5,271 units from 1,359 a year-ago.
“The above 250cc segment has two distinct categories of bikes: sports and cruiser. Both these categories are currently dotted by a large number of models at varied price points. While sports bikes include Kawasaki Ninja, Bajaj KTM Duke, besides several models from the stable of Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, the cruiser bikes category is populated by models from the stable of Royal Enfield and Harley-Davidson,” says Subrata Ray, Group Vice President – Corporate Ratings, Icra.
Harley and Royal Enfield dominate their respective segments and continue to record significant growth in their bike sales. These two account for bulk of the volumes.
Harley and Triumph US-headquartered Harley-Davidson, which sells bikes in above-500 cc categories, accounted for 44 per cent of volumes in the 500cc plus segment with sales of 2,307 bikes during April-September 2014 (it sold 902 units a year-ago). Its products are priced in the range of Rs.4.1 lakh to Rs.29 lakh.
British luxury bike brand Triumph, which forayed into the Indian market with the launch of 10 models about a year ago, is also making rapid progress. The company, which is also having an aggressive play in the 500cc plus category, sold 720 units during the first half of this fiscal. The company has secured leadership position in the 800-1000 cc super bike market after pushing Harley-Davidson to second place. Of the 11 Triumph models, eight are assembled locally and sold in the domestic market.
“Triumph bikes are priced in the range of Rs.6.8 lakh to Rs.24 lakh. As we offer quite a vast range of bikes, we are seeing customers in the age group from 25 years and going up to 50 or 60 years. Since Triumph is an iconic British brand, many old people have nostalgic memories with it,” says Sterling James Bhaskar of Harbour City Motors, which sells Triumph bikes in Chennai.
While the western brands continue to dominate the above 500cc segment, Kawasaki is the only Asian brand that has been able to make its presence felt in the category.
Royal Enfield Royal Enfield, among the world’s oldest motorcycle brands, is the leader in the mid-size (above 250cc to 650 cc) of super bike market. With a record growth of 78 per cent, the company’s sales stood at 1.53 lakh units during first half of this fiscal. Royal Enfield’s product line-up includes the Bullet, Classic and Thunderbird models in both 350 and 500cc displacements and the recently introduced Continental GT 535cc café racer, a big hit in its segment.
DSK Motowheels, which has just tied-up with Italian super bike brand Beneli, has also been making strong inroads in the mid-size super bike segment through Hyosung brand of premium bikes.
Premium bike retailing requires some special training and skills as customers would know more about the bikes. Unlike mass segment bikes, these premium products are positioned on performance attributes, says Jai Auto’s D. Ranganathan, who is retailing Bajaj, KTM and Kawasaki bikes in Tamil Nadu.
People in the age group of 30-35 are flocking his dealerships for buying premium bikes. “In the next 5-6 years, we see the sport bike category having strong appeal in the overall bike market,” he adds. While the buyers in the segment are not necessarily affected much by inflation, good economic growth and spate of new launches are likely boost the sales further in the coming months.
balachandar.g@thehindu.co.in
