Japanese auto brand Suzuki aims to emerge as a key constituent of Indian two-wheeler market in the next few years, supported by a two-pronged product strategy and stronger distribution network.
The company said it would focus on offering value-for-money as well as premium products in the two-wheeler segment. Also, it would ramp up its touch points from the present 630 to 1,000 and to 2,000 as early as possible.
“Since Suzuki brand in four-wheeler segment is associated with the ‘value-for-money’ positioning, we obviously can’t disassociate ourselves from that. Also, our big bike image has created confidence among the customers that we have technology for premium bikes and can take it forward further,” Atul Gupta, Executive Vice-President, Suzuki Motorcycle India (SMI), told this correspondent.
“Our product strategy will focus on building the brand in these two areas simultaneously — some models for numbers, and some for brand,” he added.
The company said that though it was a smaller player going by the sales numbers, in terms of perception or expectation, Suzuki brand was considered No. 3 in the market. SMI hopes to gain more sales and market share through its just-launched sports bike Gixxer and scooter Let’s, launched in May this year. Its 155 cc bike Gixxer, priced at Rs.74,552 (ex-showroom, Chennai), has secured over 3,000 bookings since the start of the bookings on September 1.
The company is yet to launch the bike in many cities. “Good product launches coupled with our increasing distribution network should give us some strong space to play,” he added.
