Honda Motorcycle launches ACTIVA-I; priced at Rs 44,200

NEW DELHI: Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) today launched a new scooter, ACTIVA-I, priced at Rs 44,200 (ex-showroom Delhi), its most affordable model in the segment.

The gearless scooter powered by a 110cc engine will be available for sale across the market by the end of the month. The company is positioning the new model as a personal compact scooter.

Hero to launch Two New Bikes and One 

 Scooter by 2013-end 

Hero MotoCorp, world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, is facing a tough competition from erstwhile partner Honda and Bajaj Auto, and amid increasing competition, Hero is also losing numbers with every passing day. Honda is eating into Hero's market share and recently launched commuter motorcycles such as the Dream Yuga 110 and the Dream Neo 110have been doing superb for Honda in the segment, which has been the core segment for Hero in India. In fact, Hero Splendor and the Hero Passion, two of Hero MotoCorp’s largest selling motorcycles is facing fierce competition fromDream Yuga and Neo.

On the other hand, another home grown brand, Bajaj Auto is following aggressive strategy for the commuter segment. The company recently announced to expanded the Discover range, and the Pune based manufacturer will be launching 4-6 new Discover Bikes. While few other manufacturers like TVS and Yamaha are also planning to launch new affordable commuter bikes in India soon. Now it was very important for Hero to counter all these plans, and now there are news coming that Hero is also planning to launch new products in this space.

According to the Economic Times, Hero MotoCorp is planning to launch 2 new motorcycles by the end of 2013. So, we can expect these bikes to be launched during upcoming festive season , which is the best time to launch any new product in India. Currently, Hero MotoCorp sells two Scooters; Hero Pleasure and Maestro. Both the scooters are doing well in terms of sales, but Hero wants to ensure more share in the automatic scooter segment, which is the core strength segment for Honda. So, the company will also be launching a new automatic scooter soon.

Hero still uses Honda's technology as per their agreement, this collaboration will end this year. So, it still remains uncertain, whether the new products will use Honda's technology or will be developed with Hero's new technological partners such as Erik Buell Racing, Ricardo and AVL. Also, Hero recently started exports to the emerging markets in South America and Africa and further planning to establish manufacturing capacities in these countries. It is a fact that Hero is loosing its market share but the manufacturer won't let Honda to get its spot that easily

Yamaha going to make world's cheapest bike with India as the base

Japan's Yamaha plans to make India the base for manufacturing low-cost motorcycles for the global market.
The company, which did not have a strong presence in the mass volume segment, is looking to expand its portfolio through a new range of low-cost products, where companies like Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto are the top players.
Yamaha sold 5 lakh units in 2013, and is targeting to sell 10 lakh units in 2015, including exports.
“We have been focusing on sporty, stylish and performance bikes in India so far. Now we arelooking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively,” Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO & MD, India Yamaha Motor,
It has high hopes riding on the Yamaha Motor Research and Development India (YMRI) – set up in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh in February this year – which is in the process of developing the world's cheapest bike.
Going by reports, the bike would be PRICED around $500 (Rs27,000) and first launched in India.
Yamaha hopes to export the new bike to countries in Africa and Latin America.
YMRI, Yamaha's motorcycle R&D headquarters in India and the fifth overseas R&D headquarters after Italy, Taiwan, China, and Thailand, is also working on other low-cost models for India and other markets.
Yamaha, which recently forayed into the scooter segment, also plans to launch a scooter a year in India.
It plans to set up its second R&D centre at its upcoming Chennai facility by 2015. It is investing Rs1,500 crore on the new facility, which will have a capacity of 1.8 million units by 2018