Superbike manufacturers such as Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha have been taken aback by the response their high-end machines have received way up in the mountains. The manufacturers are reporting decent sales figures of their high-end bikes from Northern and North-Eastern parts of the country.
Atul Gupta, Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited -
Much to our astonishment, 10% of superbikes have been bought by highlanders in Dehradun and Guwahati
The general trend among big bike manufacturers is to focus mainly on customers from metro cities, since these customers are the ones who are most likely to have the moolah to splurge on these exquisite machines. Manufacturers see Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore as the regions with the highest demand for their high-end bikes, but this recent statistic of good contributions from the mountainous regions has taken them by surprise.
Manufacturers attribute the good sales of their high end machines to the steadily rising disposable income and the availability of easy financing services. The presence of a well-trained service network and hassle free support for the bikes is also one of the factors pushing up sales of these bikes.
N.K Rattan, Head, Marketing and Sales, Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India -
We have special teams to service these bikes across the country. This has boosted the confidence of the consumer, and has translated into better sales
Pankaj Dubey, Head, Marketing and Sales, India Yamaha Motor -
The actual numbers coming from the north-east mountain region are not as significant as the metros, but they are crucial. For this super-niche segment every unit sold makes a lot of difference to our sales strategy.
Though manufacturers have been surprised by the numbers reported from the mountains, the metros still lead the sales charts. Mumbai accounts for every 1 out three superbikes sold in the country, followed by Delhi and Bangalore, which account for around 20 % of the total sales of these bikes in the country.
The superbike market in India began to boom only when Yamaha brought in its YZF-R1 and MT-01 into the country during the year 2008. This was followed by launches from rival manufacturers such as Suzuki and Honda who brought in products such as the CBR 1000RR Fireblade, CB 1000R, Suzuki GSX-1300R Hayabusa and the Suzuki Intruder.
The Hayabusa has gone onto take the lead in the superbike sales charts with a sales figure of 108 units till date. It has also enabled Suzuki to go atop the manufacturers sales chart ranking, leaving Yamaha and Honda to bring up the rear of the pack.
The superbike space in India has all the global majors presently in it except Kawasaki, who only have the Ninja 250R as their sole offering to Indian customers. But, this could change in the very near future, with Kawasaki setting up its Indian subsidiary and having said that customers in India can expect bigger and more powerful bikes from their international range very soon.
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