In the recent past, buyers in India have developed a liking for premium bikes. This can be seen by the fact that many renowned motorcycle companies have made forays in the country. The trend of owning a high-end motorcycle has gripped bike enthusiasts since luxury bike brands commenced their operations in India. Ever since companies like Harley-Davidson, Hyosung, Ducati, Royal Enfield and KTM made their entries in India, the demand of high-specification bikes have been constantly growing every year.
According to the data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the number of luxury bikes manufactured by these brands has almost doubled as compared to 2012. In the 500 cc bike segment, Royal Enfield leads the pack as it registered a growth of 52 per cent in 2012 as compared to 2011. The luxury bike segment has managed to perform well even after the general slowdown prevalent in the automotive sector. Trade analysts are foreseeing significant growth in the respective segment as people are nowadays more active in buying high-end motorcycles.
The potential of premium bike market in India can be analysed from the fact that more and more of international brands are expanding their bases in India. UK based bike manufacturer Triumph is the latest to join the luxury bike segment bandwagon. Eyeing the kind of demand for its bikes, Triumph introduced 10 models in India in an ex-showroom price range of Rs. 5.7 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh. Before Triumph, BMW Motorrad was the other big entrant in the premium bike segment as it ventured in India through a tie-up with Chennai-based TVS Motors. Under the alliance, both companies are planning to manufacture bikes that would cater to the mid-capacity segment, i.e. less than 500cc.
In the sub-500 cc segment, the competition is stiffening day by day as Royal Enfield recently launched the 535 cc cafe racer inspired Continental GT in India. On the other hand, Austria based bike manufacturer, KTM recently forayed in the segment with its Duke 390 model. The bike carries an ex-showroom price tag of Rs. 1.7 lakh in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, the partner of KTM, Bajaj Auto is reportedly working on the 375 cc version of Pulsar that might make its headway start in India by late December or early January 2014.
According to experts, the main reason behind the launch of so many bikes in the less than 500 cc segment is the growing demand. Interestingly, the demand for luxury bikes is not only limited to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore as non-metropolitan cities are also raking in good amount of sales. This fact is evident if one comes across the dealership network of companies like Harley-Davidson and Ducati, which expanded their footholds in Tier II and Tier III cities. Also to mention, Triumph announced that it will be opening showrooms in cities like Ahmedabad, Goa, Hyderabad and many more. As far as South-Korea based manufacturer Hyosung is concerned, it is being said that the company is planning to open stores in Bhopal, Baroda, Mysore and Dehradun in coming months. Furthermore, a thing to note here is that the company's major chunk of revenue comes from the North-Eastern states like Meghalaya, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
