4 years later, Suzuki back with 2 bikes

8th AUTO EXPO 2006

Four years after walking out of its two-wheeler joint venture with TVS, Suzuki Motor Corp of Japan today announced its re-entry into the Indian market with the launch of two 125 CC motorcycles, Heat and Zeus.

It may, however, find the odds stacked against it. While the domestic market for motorcycles grew by around 25 per cent in 2005, a new entrant would find itself up against global giants like Hero Honda, which has a 44.5 per cent market share and Bajaj Auto (36 per cent).

The last four years have seen the motorcycle market grow at a scorching pace and Suzuki, market-watchers say, may have lost crucial time.

"We were studying the market," said Suzuki Motorcycle India (SMI) Joint Managing Director Katsumi Takata.

The SMI, owned 74 per cent by Suzuki Motors, plans to manufacture 1,00,000 bikes in the first year. Hero Honda sells two-and-a-half times this in just a month.

SMI Managing Director Satya Sheel says the company hopes to encash on Suzuki being as a household name. While there is merit in that, Honda and Kawasaki (Bajaj's partner), cannot be faulted on brand strength either.

Sheel says the company hopes to create new demand and fulfill it. New demand is generated by opening up new segments in the market. The two 125 cc motorcycle unveiled by SMI today, going by their looks and specifications, can easily get lost in a crowd of made-in-India motorcycles.

Sheel's contention is that a segment is a conventional way to differentiate products. "Demand is not segment related. It's inspiration-related. The demand still exists. We will tap it," he says.

Sheel said they would create market for the company through an "unflinching commitment to quality" and added they would leverage the network of Maruti Udyog, owned 54.2 per cent by Suzuki.