Competition between Indian bike manufacturers and new foreign players is heating up in the Indian market as well as international arena.

Chinese bike manufacturers are looking to enter the lucrative Indian two-wheeler market and compete with home grown majors like Bajaj, Hero Honda and TVS. The Chinese with their extreme cost cutting strategies can offer competitive products at cut-throat prices.

Would this be a cause of concern to the Indian bike makers? Market analysts say no. They think that the Chinese manufacturers can’t give quality products and the Indian bike market, unlike the car market is quite quality sensitive and and native bike maker needn’t have worries about the advent of Chinese bike majors.

Baja Motorcycles recently got a Chinese patent for its ExhausTec technology. Also Bajaj had setup a bike manufacturing unit in China is said to be manufacturing low cost bikes with almost 100% localization. These low cost bikes have been branded ‘Boxer’ and Bajaj is selling these bikes in Africa and Latin Americas. Nigeria is one of the biggest markets in Africa for Bajaj.

Indian bike makers can’t produce low cost bikes that compromises on quality and this the reason why Chinese manufacturers who sell low quality bikes at dirt cheap prices in all developing markets overtake Indian companies and hold more than 70% market share in the low cost bikes segment all over the world.

With TVS planning exports to Latin America and Africa and Bajaj already playing in the international arena, it would be interesting to see how Indian bike manufacturers tackle their Chinese competitors in price sensitive developing markets.

Source: DNA