Yamaha recalls luxury sports bike

Japanese bike maker Yamaha is calling back its super sports bike YZF R1 (998CC) in India to fix a potential problem with the super luxury bike that retails for around Rs 16 lakh.

The company said around 100 units of the bikes may be called back to fix the defect, and this is being done as part of a global exercise.


"Yamaha Motor Co., Japan, has determined that a defect which relates to headlight lead coupler overheating and melting, exists in YZF-R 1 motorcycle falling within certain production numbers. This headlight sub-lead must be replaced at the earliest in the motorcycles falling within certain production numbers," the company said. 

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With competitive pricing, Bajaj Auto hopes to Discover a larger market

Bajaj Auto today launched a new 125 cc bike Discover. The company said that this will play a crucial role in increasing its market share in motorcycles from 22 per cent now.

The 125 cc bike addresses the large market of 100 cc to 125 cc segment, which accounts for about 85 per cent of the domestic motorcycle market.


It is seen to help garner big volumes as it is priced attractively at ₹49,075, ex-showroom in Hyderabad.


This bike is about 4,000 lower than similar bikes offered by other manufacturers such as Glamour and Passion , making it an attractive proposition, said K Srinivas, President, Motorcycle Business.


Srinivas said: “AP accounts for about 17 per cent of total 125 cc bikes sold in the country. Therefore, we decided to launch the bike here.”

The new bike comes with a 125 cc 4-valve twin-spark DTSi engine offering 11.5 Ps power and a mileage of 76 km per litre making it an attractive proposition for new bike buyers, he said.


“Bajaj Auto has a market share of about 22 per cent of the country’s market of about 8.3 lakh motorcycles per month. However, in the sporty bike segment, we have a market share of about 45 per cent,” he explained.


Market remains subdued : The company has overall manufacturing capacity of 4.8 million a year and the current capacity utilisation is at about 85 per cent, he said.


Referring to the country’s market of motorcycles, he said the SIAM data shows that the market continues to be subdued. On the Government’s recent move to bring down excise duty, he said though the manufacturers have passed on the benefit to the customers immediately after it was announced late last month, its impact has not yet been felt so far.

“While the move is good for the automotive sector, we expect volumes to pick up in the next couple of months.

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Karbonn Mobiles to launch dual-OS smartphones in June

Homegrown mobile phonemaker Karbonn Mobiles is all set to launch dual-OS (operating system) devices, which will support both Android and Windows, by June.

The company has just signed the licence agreement with Microsoft to make Windows-based phones and will put this along with its existing Android system to bring out the dual-OS phones in about six months, the company's chairman Sudhir Hasija said.


This comes soon after Nokia moved out of its Windows-only strategy to launch low-cost smartphones that run on the Android operating system.


"Microsoft has eased the regulations and is opening up its platform for other players. We signed the agreement two days ago and will launch a range of Windows phones in about three months," Hasija said. The dual-OS phones will be out by June, and will target office-going professionals and 'techies', he said. The company is yet to zero in on the price range.

Karbonn, which at present sources all their products from Taiwan and Korea, is actively working on setting up a manufacturing unit in India, with a capacity to make one million phones a month. While local manufacturing will not give any cost benefits, it will help with faster turnaround of new launches in the market, Hasija said. The company is considering Tamil Nadu to set up its factory since the state has access to ports and a precedent in the supply chain for mobile phone manufacturing with the Nokia factory.


New launches apart, the company will also focus on driving up sales using apps that promote augmented reality. On Friday, Karbonn launched a range of mobile and tablet apps that use augmented reality to bring out features and games related to characters from the movie Kochadaiiyaan with Rajinikanth in the lead role.

The company will also soon start making interactive hoardings and newspaper-advertisements where the characters in the hoarding/newspaper will come alive in 3D through the app on the phone.

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GMail Makes It Easy to Rid Your Inbox Of Promo Emails

One-click unsubscribe right next to the sender’s address. A million email marketers’ voices were suddenly silenced. Gmail is making it easier for you the user to weed out the plethora of junk you have signed up for over the years. Hey, we all know those cruise deals are great, and they come with a special of Norovirus. It makes for more memorable Instagram photos.

Now if you don’t want the latest deals, or are just simply tired of achieving inbox zero, well Google has you covered. There’s a one-click unsubscribe link right next to the sender’s address. No longer are you left to hunt down the unsub link and go through the ‘are you sure you want to do this?’ Nah, I accidentally hunted this link down for a few minutes, clicked it, hit the radio buttons, but I’m still unclear as to why I’m here.


E-mail marketers are now faced with the dilemma of switching to engage their customers. No longer will they be able to just blast away to their lists. It is too easy now to just jump off the list. Expect value added to enter the lexicon of online marketers everywhere.


A piece of good news for marketers is that the unsubscribe button means that fewer emails will be tagged as spam. This has been causing delivery rates to drop as customers get frustrated about how to get off the list. With it front and center, delivery rates should be back up. Now it will be their job to sell in such a way that doesn’t earn them the one-click.


News of this tool was first reported at an industry conference by Google last week. So if you’re an email marketer, prepare to step up your game. In this arena, content is king.

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DSK Hyosung launches Aquila 250 cruiser

Korean bike maker Hyosung along with its Indian partner DSK has brought back one of the original Vee-twin cruisers to hit India, the Aquila 250.

There was a time when all the bikes you could buy from an Indian motorcycle showroom were single-cylinder affairs. Then, nearly ten years back, Kinetic brought two twin-cylinders over from Korea, the Hyosung Comet 250 and the Hyosung Aquila 250. Even though it was just a quarter litre punter, the Aquila was the first Vee-twin cruiser motorcycle to be sold in India. After a long hiatus from the Indian market, modern-day Hysoung, along with its Indian partner DSK Moto Wheels, has the brought the Aquila 250 back into the Indian market at Auto Expo 2014.

Carrying with the tagline “The Real Cruiser”, the Aquila 250 is powered by a quarter-litre Vee-twin, oil-cooled DOHC 8-valve engine which produces 26.21 horsepower at 9500 rpm and 21.37Nm of maximum torque at 7000 rpm. As for the other mechanical bits, the Aquila uses regular telescopic suspension up front and dual hydraulic shock absorbers at the back. To add to the cruiser’s bling appeal, there are oodles of chrome all over including the alloy wheels and engine parts. The Aquila 250 is priced at Rs 2.69 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and will be available through DSK Hyosung showrooms across the country.

Of course, the Aquila 250 wasn’t the only thing of interest at the Hyosung stall at Auto Expo 2014. The Korean bike maker showed off the beautiful on-off road RT125D, the muscularly sculpted GD250N single-cylinder streetfighter as well as the Comet 250 naked. The blokes at Hyosung said that they were keen on getting all these bikes to India, and probably roll them out one-by-one through this year.

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Verdenchi to launch Moto Morini Scrambler and Granpasso at 2014 Auto Expo

Vardenchi, the Mumbai-based motorcycle customisation house, has confirmed that two iconic Moto Morinis will be launched in Indian at the Auto Expo 2014.

Last year, the custom house tied-up with the iconic Italian motorcycle manufacturer to import and distribute its motorcycles in India. OVERDRIVE was the first to report the story. Read full report here.


It seems that Moto Morini’s initial focus in India will be limited to off-roading/adventure motorcycles with the Italian company choosing to leave its street bike Corsaro 1200 out of its Auto Expo lineup.  Read the history of Vardenchi and Moto Morini here. The prices of both the motorcycles will be announced at the Auto Expo. By June-July 2014, the first lot of Morinis will be delivered to the customers.


Vardenchi Motorcycles founder Akshai Varde said, “I personally rode the Morini across Europe and instantly fell in love. These highly tuned beasts are genuinely the most fun motorcycles to have in your stable. I see this alliance as a initiator of a luxury segment in motorcycling that will prove to be a game changer.”

Bialbero Corscorta : All the three motorcycles will be powered by the same 1187cc V-twin that the company calls Bialbero Corscorta. This engine was designed by Franco Lambertini, a former engine designer for Ferrari, who was also responsible for the 1970s 31/2, perhaps Morini’s most famous model in history.

Moto Morini Scrambler is built for all-terrain crossover use, ably aided by the 19” front wheel and the tread-blocked tyres, be it asphalt, the cobblestones, or else the off-roads. The Scrambler is equipped with the Bialbero CorsaCorta 1187cc twin-cylinder that makes 120PS of power and and 102Nm of torque. The 21-liter tank is one of the most striking styling elements and has a sporty and ergonomic design which is not intrusive for the rider.


The Granpasso 1200 is Moto Morini’s answer to the BMW and KTM adventure series. It boasts a 1187cc V-twin oversquare engine which is good for 120PS of power and 103Nm of torque. The clutch is a multi-disc wet slipper one while the brakes are dual-Brembos. Typical to these class of motorcycles, the Granpasso has an oversize windshield and comfortable seats. Suspension duties are taken care by Marzocchi upside down units in the front and an Ohlins side-mounted monoshock with a piggy bank reservoir.

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Bajaj Pulsar 150NS and 180NS first spy shots: 2014 Delhi Auto Expo

Bajaj Auto, India’s leading two wheeler manufacturer in the 150+ cc segment, has already confirmed the launch of new motorcycles under the Pulsar range. Recently, we spotted two new Pulsar variants, which looked like NS versions of Pulsar 150 and Pulsar 180.

Bajaj Auto Limited, is suffering a slight slowdown in the 150-200 cc motorcycle category and is keen to augment its position as No 1 with a slew of new product launches. At the Delhi Auto Expo, they are expected to show their new range of Pulsar motorcycles.

This will include the launch of all new 200 SS Pulsar. It is a fully faired version of Pulsar 200 NS, with slight improvements in the engine output and riding dynamics. You can have a look at the spy shots of the same in our previous post. Apart from this, there will also be new Pulsar 150 and 180 variants, in the NS format. We managed to click the new Pulsar 150 NS and 180 NS while they were being tested on NH4 near Mahabaleshwar.

The images you see below, are the first clear shots of the Pulsar 150NS and 180NS. Looking at the spy pictures here, you will see that all motorcycles look the same at first glance. A closer look and you will realize that they are a little different.


For instance, the rear mud guard is different, so is the design of rear seats. We guess the Pulsar 180 NS will feature split seats, while the 150 NS will come without split seats. Major update seen is the much needed monoshock suspension at the rear. The tank is different as compared to the current 150/180, and is more like the existing 200 NS Pulsar. The usual silencer is also missing, and is replaced by an under-body one, just like one’s in Duke 200, 390, and Pulsar 200 NS.

On the engine front, both the 150 NS and 180 NS featured the same DTS-i engine as seen on the existing variants. But performance seems to be tweaked for better top speed and acceleration. We were also able to listen to it’s sound, and the new Pulsar 150NS and 180NS sounded more like the 200NS, thanks to the new silencer.


Price of the new bikes should be similar to the existing 150 and 180, in the Rs 70-75k, while launch should take place at the Delhi Auto Expo next month.   

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Harley walks the middle path with Street 750

Smaller, nimbler, better suited for city conditions. These were the words used by Harley Davidson while unveiling its Street 750 at the second India Bike Week at Goa over the weekend. And the promotional video features a guy-next-door model, vastly different from the macho image that Harley has always portrayed.

“This bike was designed and developed based on inputs from one-on-one interactions with over 3,000 riders in different parts of the world, 600 from India alone,” said Anoop Prakash, CEO, Harley Davidson India. The feedback was that the people wanted a more usable bike, with good handling for city riding, he said.

The Street is a completely new product from ground up, and is the company’s first new design in over 14 years after the V-Rod, which was a collaboration with Porsche and which hardcore fans call the “most un-Harley bike from Harley.”

The Street, however, has been developed completely in-house at the Harley headquarters in Milwaukee in the US. The designers went through the design archives all the way back to the 1930s, adopting bits from different eras to try and keep the bike true to the heritage of Harley Davidson, said Frank Savage, Harley’s design chief.

The result is the smallest bike to emerge from the Harley stable so far, a 750-cc V-twin that will shortly be joined by an even smaller sibling with a 500-cc engine that would however be identical in most other aspects.

The Street will make the Harley brand accessible for more riders in emerging markets.


Shorn of the rhetoric, however, the US bike-maker is reaching out to more potential riders in view of dwindling sales in the home market, as the traditional buyer of its massive cruiser ages out of the equation, and young bikers look towards Japanese and European sports bikes.


A decade ago the company had set off howls among purists when it introduced a range of small --- by its standards --- bikes with a 900-cc engine, primarily targeting the woman rider. This has had some success, with the range doing well in developing countries such as India where, starting at just over Rs. 6lakh, it brought the brand within the reach of more buyers, including the youth.

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Kawasaki eyes 25% share of superbike market in India by 2015; launches Z800 in Delhi

"We are looking at sales of 1,500-1,800 bikes in India in 2014. Of these, around 400 are expected to be in the superbike range that is fully imported," Shigeto Niskikawa, deputy managing director of Kawasaki's Indian subsidiary, told reporters on Monday. "We have a strong portfolio of superbikes and aim to capture 25 per cent of the Indian market by 2015."

The company plans to sell 1,200-1 ,400 units of its Ninja 300 and Ninja 650 models, which it assembles in the country. Kawasaki launched the Z800 at an ex-showroom price of Rs 8.05 lakh, adding to its India line-up of six motorcycles that have engine sizes ranging from 300cc to 1,400cc. These include the superbike models ZX14R, ZX10R, Z1000 and Ninja 1000.


Last year, the company sold 25 units of its imported bikes and about 1,000 units of two locally-assembled models.


In India, Harley Davidson is the segment leader with annual sales of about 3,000 units.


Kawasaki is also looking at expanding its sales network. "We are currently studying the options for the establishing a wider dealer network across the country. By the end of 2015, we plan to have around five dealers," Nishikawa said.


Kawasaki has two dealerships in the country — one in Pune and another in Delhi, which was inaugurated on Monday.


The company has not firmed up plans of setting up an assembling plant for completely knocked down vehicles. Kawasaki's executives said the company is looking at higher volumes to justify the local production of super bikes.


The company wants to achieve annual sales volume of about 160-200 units for each of its models before commencing CKD operations in Pune.

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Harley-Davidson Pushes Slimmer Model for India’s Gridlock

Harley-Davidson Inc., the maker of the Fatboy and Road King touring motorcycles, is introducing a slimmer vision of hog heaven in India.


Harley will start building the new Street next year in India, the world’s second-biggest motorbike market, targeting young urbanites who want a nimbler ride more suited to Mumbai

gridlock and potholes than U.S. highways. With 750-cc and 500-cc variants, the liquid-cooled Street will be the smallest in a lineup that includes the 1.5 million-rupee ($24,500), 1,688-cc Fatboy -- and will cost about one-third as much.

India, where sales of bikes 500-cc and above are forecast to surge eightfold in the next decade, is key to Harley’s push to win over emerging markets and reduce dependence on U.S.

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Karbonn partners with Vodafone for data plans on Karbonn Titanium S5, Smart A12 purchase

Karbonn, one of India’s leading mobile brands has collaborated with telecom service provider Vodafone to offer special data plan on the purchase of flagship devices – Karbonn Titanium S5 & Karbonn Smart A12.

Karbonn Mobiles is a joint venture between Delhi-based Jaina Group and Bangalore based UTL Group.

The tie-up offers 1GB 3G/2G/EDGE unlimited Internet Plan free for 3 months to Vodafone consumers buying Karbonn Titanium S5.

It also offers first time Vodafone 3G customers using Karbonn A12 500 MB 3G/2G/EDGE Internet Plan free for 2 Months.


The initiative is being seen as an attempt to compete with the another domestic mobile brand Micromax whose Canvas series smartphones have been received well by the customers of late.

Shashin Devsare, Executive Director, Karbonn said “Through our latest offering we seek to engage the consumer base with a power package which allows them to seamlessly navigate the internet with the best of hardware devices – the Karbonn Titanium S5 and Karbonn Smart A12 and the best of Internet network provided by Vodafone.”


Karbonn Titanium S5 runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS platform being seconded by 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor for better overall speed.

 
It comes with a screen size of 5 inches that gives the user good FWVGA display resolution. It comes fitted with an 8MP camera on the back side of the phone a 2MP front camera.

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Bajaj dares autos with RE60

New Delhi, May 26: Bajaj Auto will start production of its four-wheeled commercial vehicle RE60 — considered as a rival to autos — after the government notifies the specs and configuration of quadricycles, which is likely to come in 10 days.

Last week, the government allowed quadricycles within city limits as public transport. The quadricycle is a four-wheeled vehicle with a metal body and doors. It looks like a small car but is lighter than the Nano and has lower engine capacity and lower top speed.

“The RE60 will soon be joined by other such vehicles. We should expect more similar light, small and low speed commercial vehicles, which are safe to use in the days to come. As an anti-car company we are just delighted,” said Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj after the Centre’s announcement last week. The vehicle is likely to be priced around Rs 1.5 lakh.


Bajaj has been campaigning for the approval of this vehicle platform, which is set to be a safer option than the three-wheeled auto-rickshaw.

According to sources, quadricycles will be classified as commercial vehicles with a maximum weight of 450 kilogram and a top speed of about 70 kilometres per hour. The vehicle will only be allowed to ply on city roads and not on highways.


The RE60 has been developed in-house and is touted to set a global benchmark in CO2 emissions and deliver a high mileage of 35 kmpl. The company plans to roll out 5,000 units per month of the much-delayed vehicle from its Aurangabad plant.


It has light weight and a robust monocoque metal-polymer hybrid structure. The water-cooled DTSi four valve 200cc engine possesses a closed loop fuel injection system for a high performance and fuel efficiency.


“The RE60 seems to be a functional vehicle and is definitely better than an auto-rickshaw. We have to see its commercial viability though and pricing will play an important role in deciding its fate. Pricing will also depend on how much government support it manages to garner,” said auto expert Murad Ali Baig.


According to Baig, other companies are likely to come out with quadricycles only after seeing the performance of Bajaj’s new entrant.


“TVS originally brought in the concept of a quadricycle but never worked on it. The company can easily bring out one, but it will see how the people react to the RE60,” he said.

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Chamber urges Mamata to woo Bajaj quadricycle project

Mamata Banerjee has the opportunity to redeem what many believe is a historic blunder: driving the Tata Motors Nano project away from West Bengal. Though the anti-Tata demonstration paved the way for Trinamool Congress' equally historic and emphatic victory over the Left in the 2011 assembly elections, a business chamber has written to Mamata, urging her to invite Rajiv Bajaj to set up the quadricycle plant in the state.

The move follows the ministry of road and highways' green signal to the 200-cc vehicle with hard body, four doors and four wheels that Bajaj Auto had showcased in January 2012 at the Auto Expo in Delhi.


"This is the next-gen auto which is no doubt going to replace the three-wheelers in India in course of time. Quadricycles are bound to emerge as the future vehicle for urban people. We feel that if Bajaj Auto, the pioneer manufacturer of this new vehicle, is invited to set up a large-scale quadricycle factory in West Bengal, huge employment opportunities will open up and hundreds of ancillary units will emerge to provide the required parts and components," chamber president Deepak Jalan stated on Friday.
If Nano was the most inexpensive car to roll off an auto plant, the quadricycle cannot aim for the cheapest tag in motorised public transport as its older cousin; the three wheeler Bajaj autorickshaw already owns it.

Though the auto industry fraternity is not as excited about the quadricycle as it was about Nano, many believe the former has the potential to revolutionize Indian roads. "It will make commuting so much safer than it has been travelling in the door-less auto," an auto expert said.

Incidentally, a similar concern had led Ratan Tata to ask the Tata Motors team to design the Nano, an affordable Nano car that would allow Indian families to travel safe. The conscience call had come after he saw a couple with two children perched precariously on a scooter. Ironically, that scooter could have been a Bajaj.

Though the outspoken Rahul Bajaj had publicly thrown his weight behind Tata after the Nano exit, terming it a bad chapter that needed to be forgotten after having taken lessons, his son may not mind mending the fence with Mamata. After all, he has had differences with his father over exiting the scooter business.

"We request you to consider sending an urgent proposal to Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj to set up a factory in West Bengal for manufacturing RE-60 quadricycles as soon as possible. The factory may come up on a PPP model or as a private entity and necessary land and other infrastructure facilities may be offered for fast-track implementation. We believe that assurance of quick statutory clearances will elicit a positive response from Bajaj Auto," Jalan stated in the letter.

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An 'Indian' comes to India to take on Harley-Davidson

Its origin dates back to 1902, even before the US iconic super bike maker Harley-Davidson was founded. The century-old cult American brand 'Indian', is now planning to enter the Indian market by mid-2014, pitting its premium cruisers against the market leader, Harley-Davidson.

One of the two motorcycle brands owned by US-based Polaris, the Indian is aggressively venturing beyond the US to push volumes and sees India as a key market.

Though the name might suggest, the brand has no link with the country. Originally called the 'American Indian', it is inspired by America's indigenous tribe, Red Indians. The name was later shortened to 'Indian'.


The company has had a chequered history, with numerous owners. It was acquired by DuPont Motors in 1930 and sold as many units as Harley-Davidson in the '40s. But, it went bankrupt in 1945 after being taken over by Rogers Group. After that, there were nine companies that bought and sold the brand before it finally came in the Polaris group's fold.


The brand is developing an entire range of bikes with the new engine type it showcased at the Daytona Bike Week earlier this year. The Indian uses some of the biggest engines known to motorcycles for its up-market cruisers.


With its heritage but a limited customer base, the Indian will target consumers in India looking for a cruiser brand other than Harley-Davidson.


Within three years of entering the country, rival Harley-Davidson, the price of which starts from Rs 571,000, sold over 1,325 units in India last year, despitea slowdown in the automobile sector. Its sales grew 178 per cent from 476 units a year before.


The Indian will have to piggy-back on the plans of its parent company, US-based Polaris Industries, which is also finalising plans for the launch of its own brand, Victory, in India. The company, which markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in India, had bought the Indian in 2011.


Under the Indian brand are models like Chief Classic, Dark Horse and Vintage - all priced above $26,000 (Rs 14,30,000). It is showcasing a new cheaper model in August this year which will be priced at $19,000 (Rs 10,45,000). Prices of these models will more than double when imported to India.

It is not yet clear if the Indian and Victory brands will be marketed from a single showroom or different showrooms with separate branding.

"The company was on schedule to launch the Victory range this year, but decided to change its plans when it thought that the Indian brand would be better suited for the local market for an inaugural launch," said a source.

Polaris India Managing Director Pankaj Dubey confirmed that the company was planning to launch the Indian brand in the country next year but declined to elaborate on the plans. Apart from India, Polaris intends to take Indian brand to China as well.

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Royal Enfield Bullet 500 coming soon

Royal Enfield are set to launch a new variant of it Bullet Twinspark. This new variant gets tweaked styling, a larger capacity engine and upgraded brakes. The Bullet 500 now gets a new green colour, a silver and golden restyled Royal Enfield emblem, a backrest mounted on the grab handle for the pillion and borrows the taillight from the Classic series.

The Bullet 500 will house a four-stroke, twin spark, 499cc, single-cylinder and air-cooled engine which will breathe through a throttle position censor equipped carburettor. This engine will generate maximum power of 26.1bhp at 5100rpm and peak torque of 4.17kgm at 3800rpm. This engine will be allied to a 5-speed, 1-down, 4-up shifting gearbox, transferring power to the rear wheel via a chain. The Bullet 500 weighs a hefty 193kg and is held together via a single downtube tubular steel frame. This new Bullet will use telescopic fork suspension in the front and a set of gas-charged shock absorbers at the rear.

This motorcycle will use 90/90 x 19 inch rubber in the front while a 120/80 x 18 inch tyre does duty at the rear. For stopping power Royal Enfield have provided the Bullet 500 with a 280mm disc in the front and a 153mm drum brake at the rear.


The Bullet 500 has not yet reached showrooms but is expected to arrive anytime soon, prices too are awaited. Stay tuned for further details.

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BMW ropes in TVS to make sub-500cc bikes

For the first time in its history, German auto major BMW is getting into the sub-500cc motorcycle market globally in collaboration with Chennai-based two- and three-wheeler maker TVS Motor for a "strategic realignment".

TVS and BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle division of BMW, have signed a "long-term" technical agreement to jointly develop, engineer and manufacture a range of sub-500cc motorcycles. The new premium motorcycle range will come with two distinct variations in specs — one badged BMW to be sold by BMW in India and globally and the other badged TVS to be sold in India and any global market that the Indian company wants.

For the moment, there is no equity stake involved. TVS chairman Venu Srinivasan indicated that the company will invest 20 million euros earned from internal accruals in the project. BMW Motorrad president Stephan Schaller declined to comment on product development investments.

The tech tie-up will offer BMW products in a new category which will help garner growth in emerging markets like China, South-East Asia and Latin America.

"We will introduce this new premium series in both our home markets in Germany, France or the US as well as emerging markets like South-East Asia, China, Brazil and India," Schaller said. "We are committed to profitable growth and in our existing range we are among the top two or three in the world. So, additional growth can only happen in the lower cc range," he added.

For TVS, the tie-up will offer products in the 250cc category where it isn't present right now and a technology rub-off across its manufacturing line-up. The products spawned by the tech agreement would roll out in 2015. "BMW's technology and quality standards are significantly higher than anything we have seen and there will be a direct rub-off on our engineering and tech expertise and an indirect rub-off on the whole system in TVS," Srinivasan said. The new range will be manufactured in one of TVS' current facilities — either Hosur or Mysore — although there will be additional investments in tooling, machining and manufacturing of certain parts.   

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Bajaj sales highest in Gujarat alone in Western Region, Discover achieves 14 Lakh sales

AHMEDABAD: Bajaj Auto Ltd. sold 14 lakh plus Discover motorcycles in India's Western Region. Gujarat was one of the largest contributors in its growth in Western Region.

The accomplishment, according to the company's press statement, has been set in a very short span is backed by the growth of Discover 100, Discover 125, Discover 125 ST and the newly launched Discover 100T. Out of the 14,12,647 Discover units sold in the Western Region between July 2009 and March 2013, 3,71,793 units have been sold in Gujarat alone. The Western Region consists of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

Accroding to Vimal Sumbly, ( General Manager) Sales, Bajaj Auto Ltd. said, "This is a very important milestone for the Discover brand reiterating its success in the Indian market. Discover's high sales volumes, is not an outcome of compromising on value, as the brand continues to maintain its price-premium vis-a-vis competition.."

Mr. Sumbly further elaborated "The recent launch of the Discover 100T, setting new benchmarks of power, style and features, has further given momentum to the brand."


With the launch of the all new Discover T and ST range, Bajaj Auto introduced a breed of two-wheeler that offers superior mileage without compromising on design and features. Discover is one of the largest selling brands in the Indian motorcycle market.

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Ducati considering Monster 696 India debut

 

The recent customs duty hike on imported bikes (800cc plus) from 60 to 75 percent could prove a blessing in some way for Indian superbikers. 

Harley-Davidson was first to react, adding three new assembled models (including the iconic Fat Boy) to its Indian assembled fleet, which is so much more affordably priced. And now the Bologna based superbike manufacturer Ducati has hinted they are evaluating introduction of the entry level Monster, the 696 in India.


More popularly known for lending its lower, smaller trellis frame and sharing some components with the Monster 795, the 696 is similar to its bigger sibling. The M696 weighs in at only 2kg less than the M795, and shares several key specifications including a 1450mm wheelbase, saddle height  of 770mm, fuel tank capacity of 15 litres, rim and tyres and brakes. It’s powered by Ducati’s 696cc, L-twin, air-cooled and Desmodromic valve train engine, and develops nearly 79bhp of peak power at 9000rpm. The 696 being under 800cc means it faces no extra duty, attracting 60 percent as earlier. And the Monster 696 is almost as exciting and just as practical a bike for Indian roads as the more powerful 795, already on sale here.


Although low cost of ownership and Ducati don’t go hand-in-hand, the launch of the Asia-specific Monster 795 last year proves the company is responding to tap deeper into emerging Asian markets including India, armed with more affordable models. “Given the overall situation of the Monster 795 assembled in Thailand, we, along with our local importer in India, are currently evaluating the most appropriate steps for the market,” states an official statement from Ducati, responding to queries from our sister publication, Autocar Professional.

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Karbonn Retina A27 priced at Rs. 9,090, now up for grabs

With a price for the Retina A27 by Karbonn having been announced, the company has put forth surprisingly decent components at Rs. 9,090. Even so, the only online shopping outlet which appears to have stashed it at present is Saholic. Seemingly, this gadget could pose as stiff competition to smartphones such as the Lava Iris 430 and the Acer Liquid E1.

Turning our attention to the specifications of the device, the front panel is dominated by a 4.3-inch LCD display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. The screen employs IPS technology in order to grant users the privilege of viewing from wider angles. 512MB of RAM together with a dual core processor clocked at 1.2GHz has been slipped into the device’s chassis with a view to boost its performance.

Another hardware component residing under the hood is a 1,800mAh battery, using which, owners should be able to derive around 4 hours of talk time. They can moreover expect the handset to function for up to 7 days when left on standby.

Inclusion of the Android Jelly Bean OS speaks in the phone’s favor and this obviously serves as a key to the world of the Google Play store. In terms of inbuilt software, users should look forward to security attributes such as slide, face, pattern, pin and password lock options.


This handset could fall in the wish list of ardent mobile photographers, knowing that it flaunts an 8MP camera on the flip side as well as a 2MP webcam on the front. Utilizing the primary snapper will expose users to features such as auto focus, an LED flash and face detection.

The Karbonn Retina A27 furthermore features dual SIM ports, adding to the pile of recent devices in India which have managed to squeeze in an additional slot. Moreover, there will an onboard storage space of 4GB, while the bulk hoarding capacity can be stretched up to 32GB via a microSD card. Interested folks will spot the handset with the aforementioned e-retailer, radiating the color black.

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Bajaj to be first Indian auto firm to make bikes for US roads

Come early 2014, Bajaj Auto would become the first Indian automobile company whose India-made motorcycle would burn rubber in the US.

The Indian motorcycle maker would manufacture street bikes for its Austrian partner, KTM AG, which has so far been selling only off-road bikes in the US. The stylish, high-performance and race-oriented bike model, KTM Duke 390, would be produced at Bajaj’s Chakan plant, near Pune.

In an interview with Business Standard, KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG CEO Stefan Pierer says: “It is a strategic decision with Bajaj to go for sporty, stylish motorcycles, even for the saturated markets, because cars have become too expensive. We are entering the US street-bike segment for the first time and, beginning next year, the Duke 390, built in India, would be sold in the US market.”


The US is the world’s biggest market for high-end super bikes (above 990cc). However, the ongoing financial crises have forced consumers to scale down to more affordable, efficient and easy-on-pocket products.

The Duke 390, to be launched in Europe by the middle of this year, followed by India, before the US, has been developed under a joint programme of Bajaj and KTM engineers. Its concept was developed in Austria, while everything else, including design and final product development, was done in India by Bajaj.


Before this, Bajaj Auto, which owns stake in KTM, successfully launched two models — Duke 200 and Duke 125 — which were built and sold in India and exported to Europe and other markets.

Pierer adds: “These small-displacement street bikes are ideal for urban commuting, especially in saturated markets like the US and Europe.”


“What we are talking about are powerful (40-44 bhp) but affordable bikes; at 138 kg, these are powerful and agile. With a target price of ^5,000, including VAT, we think it could be a big success,” he adds.

Riding high on India-made smaller bikes, KTM dethroned German giant BMW last year to become Europe’s largest bike maker, with sales of 107,000 units, as against BMW’s 106,000.

The plan forward is to rapidly ramp up production from India and simultaneously hunt for newer markets in the Asean region and Latin America.

In some Asian markets, Bajaj has a strong network of its own, while in others it taps into resources of its other partner Kawasaki. Similarly, the Pune-based bike manufacturer, India’s second-biggest, has a strong infrastructure in Latin America, too.

Pierer sees a multi-fold increase in production from Chakan in the next five years — to at least 100,000 units a year from 17,000 as of last year. This would be half the total expected output for KTM globally by that time.

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