2007 NDTV PROFIT CAR INDIA & BIKE INDIA AWARDS

• TVS Apache:CNB-AAA Viewers’ choice Bike of the Year
• Honda Civic:CNB-AAA Viewers’ choice Car of the Year
• Honda Civic: Car of the Year
• Maruti & General Motors: Car Manufacturer of the Year
• Hero Honda CBZ X-Treme: Bike of the Year
• Bajaj Auto Limited: Bike Manufacturer of the Year
• Tata Motors Limited: CV Manufacturer of the Year
• Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman & MD, M&M: Automotive Man of the Year
• Chevrolet Aveo U-VA: Small Car of the Year
• Hyundai Verna: Mid-size Car of the Year
• Honda Civic: Executive Car of the Year
• Toyota Camry: Premium Car of the Year
• Honda CR-V: SUV of the Year
• Audi Q7: Import SUV of the Year
• Porsche 911 Carrera 4S: Import Car of the Year
• Aspire Asymmetric Tyre, Apollo Tyres: Automotive Product of the Year
• ABS ESP from MICO BOSCH: Automotive Technology of the Year
• Bajaj Platina: Bike of the Year upto 100 cc
• Yamaha Gladiator: Bike of the Year upto 125 cc
• Hero Honda CBZ X-Treme: Bike of the Year upto 150 cc
• Kinetic Blaze: Scooter of the Year
• PGM-FI from Hero Honda: Bike Technology of the Year
• Force MAN L49 Tractor Head: CV of the Year
• Volvo B7R: CV Technology of the Year
• Karun Chandhok: Indian Motorsport Award
• Honda Civic: Automotive Design of the year
• M&M Scorpio: CNB-AAA Creative Print Campaign of the year
• Zen Estilo: CNB-AAA Creative TV Campaign of the year
• General Motors: CNB-AAA Marketing team of the year
• Honda and General Motors: CNB-AAA PR & Communications team of the year
• Aamir Khan (Toyota Innova): CNB-AAA Brand Ambassador of the Year

Heavyweight bikes queuing up as Indian roads get wider

Get ready for Rs 9 lakh-plus motorcycles. With the government allowing the import of bigger bikes with engine specifications of 800-cc and above last week, the big bike segment is all set to hot up.

Bike-makers Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki have already lined up plans to give competition to Harley Davidson, which will soon import its super-bikes in the country.

According to sources, Japanese auto major Suzuki’s motorcycle division is likely to import two of its sports bikes by year end. One of them is likely to be the 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled 16-valve GSX-R1000, which comes strapped with a 999-cc engine. The other Suzuki sports bike could be the 749-cc GSX-R750. When contacted, Suzuki Motorcycle & Scooter India marketing VP Atul Gupta refused to comment.

Yamaha Motors, on the other hand, is expected to get in the completely-built units (CBUs) of 998-cc YZF-R1 and the 600-cc YZF-R6 by year-end. Japanese auto maker Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India is also expected to import 800-cc bikes. When contacted, Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India head sales NK Rattan said: ”We plan to get into the big bike segment. These would be bikes with engine capacity above 500-cc and would be completely-built units (CBUs).”

However, industry sources believe luxury and super bike-maker BMW will still not be tempted to re-enter the Indian bike market. BMW entered India about 10 years back in a joint venture with the Hero Group. The plan was to locally assemble and sell high-end bikes. However, the venture failed to take off and the company made an early exit from the two-wheeler market. Even though BMW has entered the car business in India, it is not likely to bring its high-end bikes in the immediate future.

On an average, any of these sports bikes, if imported, cost about Rs 9 lakh and upwards. When these motorcycle makers will import these bikes, they are likely to charge a higher price and these bikes could cost in Rs 10-11 lakh range. The government on Friday allowed imports of bikes with engine specifications of 800-cc and above, which includes Harley Davidson bikes. The bike-maker will be required to adhere to Euro-III emission norms.

India allows Harley Davidson import

 

American cult bike brand Harley Davidson can soon be seen cruising on Indian roads with the government today relaxing emission and testing norms for their import in return for allowing mango exports to the US.

The Commerce Ministry today notified that import of motorcycles up to 800 cc engine capacity or above subject to compliance to Euro III emission norms.

Individuals, firms and original equipment manufacturers with service networks would be allowed to import these bikes.

The relaxation followed an agreement reached at the India-US Trade Policy Forum meeting here.

“We have reached an agreement… now Harley Davidson motorcycles can be imported while Indian mangoes will be available in the US markets,” Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said.

“Indian mangoes are only a few days away from the shipment,” US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.

The king of fruit has not been allowed to enter the US market due to various non-trade barriers and the last hitch of radiation testing is being addressed. A radiation testing facility is being set up in Mumbai on a cost-sharing basis.

Though bikes in India have to meet strict norms, Harley Davidson and other motorcycles of higher engine capacity have been given a liberal treatment. But they would have to meet at least Euro III norms.

The government has done away with the need for conducting homologation checks for these bikes. These tests are essential to see if imported vehicles meet Indian regulations. In place of this, test certificates of accredited agency will suffice.

In the past, India had taken a tough stand on import of Harley Davidson, citing the American bike maker’s inability to meet emission norms here.

The cruiser is considered a ‘must-have’ for the rich and the famous across the world.

Although, Harley will sell its bikes in India, it has maintained that the bikes will not be manufactured anywhere outside the US so as not to dilute its ‘Made in America’ exclusivity.

Honda Unicorn: Cosmetic Makeup!

New Delhi, March 19, 2007: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI), a 100% subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company, Japan - the largest manufacturer of two wheelers in the world – today announced the launch of a new look sporty 150 cc Honda UNICORN.

In 2006-07, HMSI sold 7.2 Lac units. In 2007-08, aggressively plans for 9 Lac units with a growth of 27% and eyes over a million sales to be a top group company. “We have emerged as the 4th largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India by growing faster than the industry year after year. We are now targeting rapid expansion of our business in future to be one of the top group two wheeler companies in India by 2010”, said Mr. Yukihiro Aoshima, President & CEO, HMSI. New Sporty UNICORN Dressed with looks that surpass benchmarks of admiration and envy alike, the new Honda Unicorn exhibits international Sporty styling at its best. Apart from a classy double tail lamp and a masculine fuel tank, this racing wonder also flaunts a stylish front cowl, body gelling graphics, robust black plated engine and sporty alloy wheels.

According to Mr. Yoichi Mizutani, Director – Sales & Marketing, HMSI, “The New Sporty Unicorn is borne out of Honda’s belief to constantly innovate to fulfill aspirations and needs of the target customers. The consumer expectations have evolved since we launched Unicorn. Consumers today seek not only performance but also expect their products express their individuality. Existing Unicorn is already a benchmark for exhilarating performance in its category.

With its international Sporty look, the new Unicorn is now further strengthened to meet expectations of young customers in India.” Powered by a Honda 4-stroke, 150cc engine and incorporating cutting-edge technologies developed by Honda’s global R&D team, Unicorn is an engineering masterpiece. With a powerful 13.3 bhp engine, Unicorn clocks 0-60 kmph in an amazing 5 seconds delivering the best pick-up in its class. It is engineered to ensure a perfect balance of pick up and mileage and delivers an incredible 60 kms to a litre with its aerodynamic body and a very refined engine from Honda that develops high torque at practical operating speeds.

Fitted with the state-of-the-art Mono-suspension and a strong and flexible Diamond frame, the Unicorn is crafted to render only the smoothest drive. The Unicorn is the first motorcycle in India to have puncture resistant Tuff-up tube. The new Sporty Unicorn is priced competitively at Rs 58,150/- (ex-showroom Delhi), Rs 55950/- (ex-showroom Pune), Rs 57550/- (ex-showroom Bangalore), and Rs 58575/- (ex-showroom Kolkata).

The New Sporty Unicorn will be launched nationally on April 9th, 2007. To celebrate Honda’s Moto GP sweeping win of all the titles of Team, Rider & Constructor championship, HMSI today also announced the launch of its “Unicorn Grand Prix” for the bike enthusiasts in India.

Present for this Launch function was Mr. Tadayuki Okada- the Chief Tester of Honda RC212V for Repsol Honda, Konica Minolta Honda, Camel Honda & Telefonica Movistar Honda racing teams, who actually tested the bike Honda RC211V that Nicky Hayden rode to win the 2006 Moto GP Championship. The Bookings for the “Unicorn Grand Prix” bike will start from second week of May 2007. A total of 2,500 units will be available till June 2007.

The “Unicorn Grand Prix” bike is priced at Rs59425 /- (ex-showroom Delhi) “To achieve the growth target, we plan an aggressive Sales Strategy. Along with the introduction of new models in the market, we are undertaking rapid network expansion,” said Mr. Yoichi Mizutani. In 2006-07, HMSI has developed 100 Dealers & Branches, thus registering a total of 391 operational outlets.

In 2007-08, HMSI plans to rapidly expand network to 693 outlets which is 170% up than 2006-07. This will enable HMSI to reach closer to customers and to achieve the set aggressive targets.

New Bajaj Discover 135cc launced In India

Bajaj Discover 135 DTSi

ENGINE
Displacement: 134.2 cc, DTSi
Maximum Power: 13.1 bhp@8500 rpm
Maximum Torque: 1.21 Kg-m@6500 rpm
Bore x Stroke: 58 x 50.8
Compression Ratio: 9.5 : 1
Carburettor: Keihin FIE NCV24
Starting: Kick and Electric Start
Ignition: Digital C.D.I with Load Sensing
Ignition timing: Variable Ignition Maps

CHASSIS
Type: Double cradle
Brakes: 260mm Hydraulic Disc/130mm Drum
Tyres: 2.75 X 17” Tubeless/100×90 X 17” Tubeless

SPEEDO CONSOLE:
Analogue Speedometer & Tachometer with Fuel gauge

FUEL TANK
Capacity: 10 litres
Reserve: 2.3 litres, Fuel level indication by Fuel gauge
Useable reserve: 1.5 litres

DIMENSIONS
Length: 2030 mm
Width: 760mm
Height: 1065mm
Wheelbase: 1305mm
Ground clearance: 179mm

WEIGHTS
Kerb weight: 133 kg
Max. payload: 130kg

Did you notice the tubeless tyres? I wasn’t expecting those to be hiding in there… At this rate, they’ll probably launch a P150 with radial tubeless tyres and then hide it in the specs… That’s a great move. Tubeless tyres going down the value chain is a great, great sign. Of course, the D135 will probably have a lower sales volume than the 125, and will become the premium model offering in the 125 segment. Sort of like the TVS 160 in the 150 segment…