Honda, Hero MotoCorp slash product prices

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) and Hero MotoCorp today slashed product prices after the excise duty reduction announced in the Interim Budget 2014-15.

HMSI cut prices by up to Rs 7,600 while Hero MotoCorp reduced rates by up to Rs 4,500.


"We have decided to pass on the entire benefit of the excise duty cut to our customers. We have judiciously spread out the price cut across our product portfolio ranging from 2 per cent going up to 5 per cent with the maximum reduction being Rs 4,500," Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL) said in a statement. 


Hero MotoCorp's bike portfolio includes Karizma ZMR, Impulse, Splendor and Glamour.

Welcoming the cut in excise or factory gate duty, HMSI said it has "decided to pass the full benefit of 4 per cent excise duty reduction on two-wheelers to its valued customers across India with immediate effect".

The price benefit starts from minimum of Rs 1,600 on Dream Neo motorcycle, priced between Rs 43,150 and Rs 47,289, and goes up to Rs 7,600 on CBR 250R performance bike tagged between Rs 1.58 lakh and Rs 1.93 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).


HMSI sells a range of scooters including the Activa and Deo, and motorcycles such as Dream Yuga, CB Stunner, CB Unicorn and CB Twister among others.


Presenting the interim budget yesterday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced reduction in excise duty on small car, motorcycles, scooter and commercial vehicles to 8 per cent from 12 per cent, and on SUVs to 24 per cent from 30 per cent.

In a bid to provide relief to the automobile industry, where sales have declined, the government had lowered excise duty till June 30.

Read More »

Honda Activa-I : Engine - 110cc, Mileage - 60 Kmpl, Price - Rs. 44,200

The Honda Activa is one of the hottest selling scooters in India but in the recent times, it's facing a cut-throat competition from rival Japanese & Indian two-wheelers.

In order to maintain their lead and regain the lost market share, Honda's fully owned local subsidiary, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India aka HMSI launched the new Activa-I, with a price tag of Rs. 44,200 (ex-showroom in Delhi). The company also sells two other models, Dio & Aviator with the same 110 cc engine at higher prices.

Technical specs wise, Activa-I offers nothing exciting. It's powered by a 110 cc, air-cooled engine which produces 8.15PS at 7500 rpm (revolutions per minute) and a torque of about 8.74 Nm at 5500 rpm. The brakes system is the same as you'd find in oldie Activa called the Combi Brake System (CBS).

The CBS technology allows the total braking distance reduced by about 24% as compared to other traditional brakes system. The new Activa-I comes with tubeless tyers, a viscous air-filter and most importantly - a maintenance free battery. 

On the mileage side, the Honda engineering team promises a cool 60 Kmpl with their Honda Eco Technology aka HET. Based on user feedback for older activa; we'd expect the mileage to be about 50 kmpl on city roads. We'd like to know if any of the CEans are getting a better mileage from their Activa. 

The petrol tank can accomodate approximately 18 liters. The new Activa-I offers a greater ground clearance, of about 165mm (as compared to older Activa's 153mm). The dead-weight of the scooter is about 103 Kg.

For the women riders, there's an ergonomic grab rail - which promises to bring down the total effort of putting the scooter on main stand by about 15%. We'd definitely like to have a first hand review of this system. Do let us know through the comments!

The Activa-I will be made available in four cool colors viz. Beige Metallic, Pearl Sunbeam White, Alpha Red Metallic and Purple Metallic. 

HMSI's CEO, Mr. Keita Muramatsu informed the press that Activa-I is a creation of a team of about 200 engineers working on a project for about a year. The company now plans to make a 100% 'Made In India' two-wheeler, but did not comment on whether it'll be a motorcycle or a scooter.

Read More »

Honda plans to launch four two-wheelers every year in India

Japanese two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) on Thursday said it will launch at least four products every year in India as it looks to get the better of ex-partner Hero MotoCorp and become the largest player in the market. The company has also set up its first integrated R&D centre at Manesar, which will specifically develop two-wheelers for the country.

Within two years of its separation from the Munjals, Honda has made short work of TVS and Bajaj overtaking them in quick succession to become the second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India.

“Our plan is to launch four products every year from this R&D centre,” said Keita Mura–matsu, president and CEO, HMSI. “As India becomes a global innovation hub for Honda, customers can look forward to new products faster.”

The new R&D centre along with HMSI technical centre currently has a strength of 200 engineers and developers. It will develop and launch both refreshed versions and new models of motorcycles and scooters from the centre. Honda is also setting up a third manufacturing facility in Karnataka, which will hire 2,000 people. To be operational from the first quarter of next fiscal year, the facility takes Honda’s overall production capacity to 4,000,000 two-wheelers per annum.

“The first of these products from this centre will hit the roads during the 2013-14 financial year,” said Yadvinder S Guleria, vice-president, (sales and marketing), HMSI.

Read More »