Suzuki set to ride high on 125 cc scooter

The 125 cc scooter to be launched by the end of first quarter of 2007-08.

Suzuki Motorcycles India, a subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation, is planning to launch a 125 cc scooter in the first quarter of 2007-08. This will be the company's first scooter in India.

Speaking to Business Standard, a senior company official said, "We are planning to launch a 125 cc scooter by the end of the first quarter of 2007-08."

He added that the scooters would be manufactured at the company's Gurgaon plant. The plant has the capacity to make one lakh two-wheeler units a year.

The first batch of Suzuki's motorcycles, a 125 cc commuter bike named Heat, is expected to hit the market by next week.

Heat was unveiled at the recent auto show in New Delhi but its commercial launch and price are yet to be announced.

The other product, Zeus, a variant of the 125 cc basic bike, is not expected for another three months.

Analysts in Mumbai said that scooter would most likely be in the gearless segment as geared scooters have been steadily losing their market share in the couple of years.

Other players in the scooters segment in India are Honda, the market leader which has a 100 cc gearless scooter and a slower moving 150 cc geared scooter in the market. Kinetic, the second largest player, has 115 and 135 cc gearless scooters and is planning to introduce a new 165 cc model soon.

Analysts, however, said that it made little sense for a new entrant like Suzuki to introduce scooters, as motorcycles constituted 84 per cent of the six million unit Indian two-wheeler market.

Moreover, they are far slower moving than motorcycles. "It makes more sense for established motorcycle players like Bajaj to add scooters to their line-up," analysts said.