Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today unveiled its NAVI range of two-wheelers, thereby creating an all-new category of small motorcycle lookalikes powered by 110cc scooter engines. NAVI, an acronym for ‘New Additional Value for India’, is targeted at young male riders. The NAVI range will come in three variants – Street, Adventure and Offroad – and will start with a price-tag of Rs 39,500 (ex-showroom Delhi).
HMSI clearly is looking to beef up its motorcycle portfolio with a gaggle of new bikes. The company, like arch rival Hero MotoCorp, has seen its motorcycle sales come under pressure, particularly commuter bikes, in the wake of a rural market slowdown in India. In calendar year 2015, HMSI sold 4,314,558 two-wheelers to post modets growth of 3.40 percent year on year.
The company reported total sales of 378,719 units in January 2016 (January 2015: 378,719), which indicates growth of only 0.32 percent. The company says its domestic scooter sales stood at 235,960 units (3% up). For the April 2015 to January 2016 period, HMSI has sold a total of 3,732,736 units with scooter sales accounting for 2,315,430 units (13% up).
Consolidating its big bike portfolio, the company has announced that it will locally assemble the Africa Twin adventure tourer motorcycle. This will be the company’s second Make In India big-bike initiative after the CVBR650F. The formal date of launch of the Africa Twin is yet to be announced.