JULY 14, 2019 • THE WEEK 61the premium bikes category, new
launches and the models that got
word-of-mouth publicity performed
exceedingly well. In the 500cc-plus
segment, for instance, sales went up
almost ten times, primarily due to
Royal Enfield’s new 650cc models. In
the 800cc-plus range, the CBR series
from Honda sold well, while Tri-
umph and Harley-Davidson models
held their ground.
A look at the data from the Society
of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
(SIAM) for the past five years gives
a clear picture of the growth of pre-
mium bikes. While the share of bikes
in the 125-250cc segment rose from
14.3 per cent in 2014 to 17.6 per cent
in 2019, bikes in the 250-500cc band
rose three-fold, from 2 per cent to 6
per cent.
It is this kind of robust growth
that makes the likes of Royal Enfield
honcho Siddhartha Lal exult that “if
the Indian commuter market targets
a growth of 6 per cent, then we will
target 12 per cent”. Interestingly, it
is a sentiment even the mainstream
commuter bike brands share. Marcus
Braunsperger, tech head of India’s
biggest bike maker, Hero MotoCorp,
had famously declared at the Auto
Expo last year that this would be the
“year of the premium”. A striking
statement, considering that Hero hasforever been the poster boy of the
no-frills, high-mileage commuter
bike segment. But then Hero did
decent numbers on two premium
bikes last year, the Xtreme 200R and
the Karizma, when the sales of its
bikes in some of the lower segments
had slipped. In the crucial 110-125cc
segment, its sales fell; in the 75cc to
110cc category, the growth percent-
age was meagre.
In April, Honda—whose big bike
portfolio includes the CBR series (in-
cluding Fireblade), the Africa Twin
Adventure Tourer and the GL1800—
launched Honda BigWing, exclusive
showrooms catering to its premium
bike models. “Earlier this year, we
made a commitment of expanding
our premium motorcycle business in
India,” said Minoru Kato, president
and CEO of Honda Motorcycle &
Scooter India.
Other mainstream brands, too,
have been focusing more on meaner
bikes to shore up their profitability.
“In the premium segment, we got
more volumes than our projections,”
said Ravinder Singh of Yamaha.
Another Japanese player, Suzuki, has
even decided to get out of the com-
muter segment to focus on premium
bikes.
Among Indian players, Chen-
nai-based TVS, whose core strength
historically has been in mopeds and
small bikes, has transformed itself. It
is the leader in the entry-level premi-
um bike segment (150-200cc) with its
runaway hit, the Apache, which sold
4.64 lakh units in FY2019. TVS now
has a partnership with BMW.
Bajaj also is shifting its gears
aiming not just at the fast expand-
ing domestic market, but also the
lucrative export market. About half
of its bikes manufactured in India are
exported. This includes those from
the stables of KTM (Austria) and
Kawasaki (Japan), which are manu-
factured by Bajaj. This list will soon
feature Sweden’s Husqvarna and the
UK’s Triumph. Bajaj is reported to beSIZE MATTERS
(Left) The iconic Czech
brand Jawa re-entered
the Indian market after
five decades last year;
Honda’s Africa TwinSANJAY AHLAWATPTI