IAB Report - Honda's festive season 160 cc motorcycle not based on CX-01 Concept

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) had previously announced that a new 160 cc motorcycle would launch in the second quarter of FY2015 (July - September 2014).

Talking to Indian Autos Blog, Mr. Y. S. Guleria, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, HMSI, confirmed that the new 160 cc bike will not derive its styling inspiration from the edgy Honda CX-01 concept that was showcased at the Auto Expo earlier this year. He added that it's too early for the CX-01 Concept to be put into production.

To be positioned above the Honda CB Trigger but below the CBR150R, the 160 cc bike will be sportier and more powerful than the CB Trigger, which puts out 14 bhp (14.6 PS) and 12.5 Nm of torque. The motorcycle will lock horns with the new fuel injected Yamaha FZ Series and the TVS Apache RTR which would graduate to a new generation soon.

IAB also learns from sources that the new Honda bike will not launch before September.

While Honda is registering positive growth in automatic scooters (segment leader) and commuter motorcycles, the 150-160 cc segment is proving to be a tough one to crack. The aging CB Unicorn which caters to the commuter end of the 150 cc segment manages to post decent volumes but the CB Trigger has failed to fire and the CBR150R is positioned as a niche product. Honda would be hoping to extract more sales volume from this segment using the 160 cc motorcycle.

Competitors: Yamaha FZ V2.0 Series, TVS Apache RTR

Expected Price: INR 70,000 - 80,000, ex-showroom