New Bike Launches in India

Husqvarna recently pulled the covers off their TR 650 Strada and TR 650 Terra models.

Both these models are essentially the same bike, with the Strada being more street-focused and the Terra having good off-road capabilities. Powered by a 652-cc, single-cylinder engine borrowed from the parent company’s BMW G650GS, these Huskies get about 58 PS from the engine (an extra 11 PS over the old specs), with an option of a restricted power version (48 PS) also being available. The Strada will come with ABS as a standard feature, which will be an optional feature in the Terra.

 

Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. (SMIPL) entered into a preferred tie-up with IndusInd Bank to extend retail finance to Suzuki two-wheeler customers across its 250 dealerships.

The preferred tie up will provide Suzuki customers an easy retail finance option. The MOU was signed on July 18, 2012 by SMIPL representative Mr. Rakesh Kumar, National Head -Sales Planning and Dealer Development and IndusInd Bank representative Mr. S.V. Parthasarathy, Executive Vice President – Consumer Finance. Mr. C Ramesh Babu, VP and Head – two-wheeler finance, IndusInd was also present.

 

The center, which is the third largest of its kind in the country, was inaugurated by Anand Mahindra MD, Mahindra Group. This state-of-the-art facility has been recognized by the Department of Science and Industrial Research (DSIR), enabling the Mahindra two wheeler group to undertake in-house production design and development of engine technology for their offerings. With an investment of Rs 100 crore, the center will employ around 175 engineers and designers.

The company also unveiled two new engines developed at the Pune facility, a 110cc engine, and a 300cc liquid cooled engine, which are currently undergoing tests. Even the new Z series which includes the 2012 Duro DZ and the recently launched Rodeo RZ have been developed within this facility. The two core units in the center is an all new design center and an engine testing center for carrying out future productions of Mahindra.

 

 

 

According to recent reports from Europe, Ducati’s new owners aims to leverage the Italian marque’s technical know-how to aid in the development of new two-wheelers.

Audi’s sales and marketing manager Peter Schwarzenbauer was recently quoted in the press stating that the German car manufacturer has been considering developing a two-wheeler for quite some time now.

Speaking at an opening of a new Audi showroom in London, Schwarzenbauer said that Ducati would have an important role in ‘future mobility solutions’ for urban transportation, as the carmaker would use the Italian manufacturer’s experience to assist in development of an Audi scooter or motorcycle, but he was keen to point out that it would never be a ‘Ducati wearing an Audi badge’.

With the rivalry between German car manufacturers, and with BMW launching the new C600 scooter and its Mini and Daimler’s Smart concept, it’s likely that Audi’s first foray into the two-wheeler market would be with a maxi-scooter. Moreover, now that the VW subsidiary has acquired Ducati, it is also highly possible that they could they use the rumoured scooter project the latter had lined up for their new venture.

DSK Motowheels Private Limited, a part of the diverse DSK Group worth Rs 4000 crore, are targeting to achieve an ambitious sales turnover of Rs 100 crore from their newly launched two-wheel venture with Hyosung (SMT Korea).

Shirish Kulkarni, Director, DSK Motowheels stated that they aim to sell 3,780 units in total, including all the 3 offerings. Currently, the company offers the GT 250R priced at Rs 2.8 lakh (ex-showroom), the GT 650N and GT 650R which are priced between 4.2 lakh and 5.5 lakh (OTR, Pune) respectively and the ST 7 cruiser that comes with a price tag of Rs 6.57 lakh.

As you all are aware, DSK recently acquired Garware Motors’ stake in Hyosung and will shortly be setting up a Rs 300 crore manufacturing plant in India within the next two years. DSK Motowheels will be importing engines directly from Korea and assembling them in India.