Bike RPM » year

Its Official: Harley Davidson Indian Debut On 27th August

rajiv — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:38:31 +0000

Harley Davidson is finally coming to India in 3 days time and it's officially official! The official launch will be on the 27th of August by Matt Levatich, president and chief operating officer of the company. Mr. Levatich has also been invited as one of the speakers at the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, on 28 August.

[Via: BIKE]

Bajaj Auto sales show marginal decline in July 2009

rajiv — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:30:18 +0000

Bajaj Auto has reported a negligible decline (less than 0.5%) in its motorcycle sales during July this year, at 168,163 units, as compared to 168,971 units sold in July 2008. The company's total two-wheeler sales declined from 169,971 units in July 2008 to 168,731 units in July this year. Exports improved marginally, from 67,253 units in July 2008 to 68,585 units during July this year.

Bajaj's total sales (including three-wheelers) in July this year stood at 192,835 units, as compared to 193,704 units in July 2008. According to a company press release, Bajaj expects its performance to improve over the next few months. The company is also expected to launch a new entry-level commuter bike in the 100-125cc segment, though there is still no word on when it'll launch the much-awaited Kawasaki Ninja 250R.

[Via: indiaautomotive]

Hero Honda on growth path, posts Rs 402 crore profit

rajiv — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:58:49 +0000

India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero Honda posted a profit of Rs 402.2 crore during the quarter ended 31st March 2009. This figure represents a 35% increase over the Rs 298.7 crore in profits, which the company earned in the year-ago period.

Hero Honda's sales for the quarter stood at Rs 3,411.8 crore, a 22.34% increase over sales of Rs 2,788.65 crore which the company netted in Q4, FY 2007-08.

According to Hero Honda, a high percentage of its sales come from rural and semi-urban areas, where customers tend to buy vehicles on full cash down basis rather than opt for bank loans or finance schemes. Hence, sales haven't been severely affected by the ongoing credit crunch.

Hero Honda has also implemented significant cost-cutting measures, hence boosting profitability, and the company also benefited from tax savings due to the location of its newest factory near Haridwar, in Uttarakhand. Finally, the fact that steel and aluminium prices have come down also helped the company in lowering overall cost of production, increasing the company's profit margins in the process.

Hero Honda earned Rs 12,319.12 crore during 2008-09, a 19.2% growth over the year-ago figure. The company's net profit for FY 2008-09 stood at Rs 1,281.8 crore, a 32.4% increase over its profits in the previous financial year.

Between the 1st of April 2008 and the 31st of March this year, Hero Honda sold 3.7 million units (including domestic sales and exports), a 12% growth over sales in the year-ago period. The 12% growth is especially significant in light of the fact that the entire two-wheeler industry in India grew by only 3% in the same period.

[Via: indiaautomotive]

200 Superbikes Sold In 2008

rajiv — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:30:34 +0000

During the calendar year 2008, nearly 200 superbikes have been sold in India, the first year since the launch of the superbikes by Ducati, Suzuki and Yamaha. Of the total units sold, Yamaha accounts for 107 units, while Ducati sold over 50 units. All the bikes were imported as CBU.

Discerning the growing popularity of superbikes in India, numerous multinational two-wheeler companies like Yamaha, Suzuki Motor Corp., Kawasaki and Ducati are upping its ante on this segment by lining up a series of launches this year. Even Honda recently launched its superbikes - the CBR 1000RR and CB1000R. This year 400-450 superbikes are expected to be sold.

Suzuki has sold 26 and 29 units of Hayabusa and Intruder (priced at Rs 12.5 lakh each) since its launch in November last year. Yamaha managed to sell 107 units of R1 and MTO1 (Rs 10.5 lakh each) in 2008 as against the target of 50-60 bikes. The company is expecting 100% growth in sales of R1 and MT 01 in 2009 at 107 units.

According to industry analysts, top-end high performance bikes constitute a super niche segment that is neither dependent too much on finance and nor much impacted by the economic slowdown. Hence, the demand for such bikes is growing in India even when other two-wheeler segments are witnessing a slowdown. In recent years, Pune-based Kinetic Motors which first took the lead with the limited launch of the 250cc, v-twin-powered Hyosung Comet in India back in 2005.

[Via: Motorbeam]

TVS Motor sales in March 2009

rajiv — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:51:10 +0000

TVS Motor Company has reported a 4% increase in its sales for March this year, at 121,988 units, as against 117,045 units sold in March 2008. According to TVS, this increase in sales was primarily because of its scooters, which logged an impressive 44% growth in sales, at 22,975 units, as against 15,942 units in March last year.

TVS' motorcycle sales in March 2009 actually declined by 8.46%, at 55,754 units, as compared to 60,908 units in March 2008. Exports during March this year stood at 16,340 units as against 13,070 units in March last year - an increase of 25%.

Also, according to a press release issued by TVS Motors, the company's Chairman and MD, Venu Srinivasan has been elected President of CII for 2009-10. Srinivasan, who succeeds ICICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath, has earlier been President of ARAI and SIAM.

[Via: indiaautomotive]

Yamaha plans to launch FZ1 in India

rajiv — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:27:10 +0000

Yamaha commenced the big bike era in India with the launch of the YZF-R1 and the MT-01 last year. Suzuki, Ducati and Honda have also joined the bandwagon in recent times. With more and more multi-cylinder, high capacity bikes coming into the country, the competition has started to heat up. However, sustaining this contest is going to be tough for manufacturers since there are very few potential buyers for premium bikes in India.

Yamaha India now have some interesting plans to tackle this situation. Our sources tell us that the company has sent the FZ1 for homologation in India. We also hear that the Semi-Knocked Down kit or the SKD route is being considered for the bike. This will put the FZ1 in a much lesser price bracket - less than even the Honda CB1000R which is the cheapest imported litre-class bike currently available here.

The FZ1 is powered by a 998cc liquid-cooled engine producing a maximum power of 150PS at 11000rpm. The bike will either sport a quarter fairing or will be a completely naked one. This Yamaha can prove to be the perfect option for the city as well as for those long Sunday morning rides. With the FZ1 entering the market and at a much affordable price, the war of the Japs is definitely going to be a level higher now.

[Via: BIKE]

Hero Honda Pleasure TV Commercial….

rajiv — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:17:47 +0000

Hero Honda Pleasure TV Commercial....

Bajaj Sales Decline In January

rajiv — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:48:52 +0000

Bajaj Auto has reported a 34% decline in two-wheeler sales in January at 110,363 units against 167,592 units in the same month last year.

Three-wheeler sales during the month stood at 21,985 units against 24,601 units in the year-ago month, the company said in a statement. Exports during the month, however, grew by 24% at 54,027 units against 43,533 units. The company said that it is targeting to sell around 20,000 units of its latest model XCD 135 DTS-Si, in the next month.

Honda two-wheeler sales up 22%

rajiv — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:47:16 +0000

Honda India has reported a 22% increase in two-wheeler sales during January this year, at 94,982 units against 77,755 units in January last year. HMSI's motorcycle sales grew by 58% at 40,153 units, against 25,469 units in January 2008. Scooter sales during January 2009 also increased by 5%, at 54,829 units, against 52,286 units in January 2008.

[Via: indiaautomotive]

Honda Targets 2.5 Lakh Sales in first quarter

rajiv — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:06:37 +0000

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) targeting sales of at least 250,000 units during January-March which would exceed the targeted one-million mark for the current fiscal. The company hopes to close the year 60,000 additional units than it's targeted one million mark, the company officials disclosed.

They maintained that the company was well on course to meeting the goal of 1.2 million units during 2009-10. HMSI's ancillary suppliers were more upbeat reiterating that the company would wrap up with somewhere close to 1.4 million units by the end of next fiscal.

[via: motorbeam]