Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Sunday, Feb 06, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Sunday, Feb 06, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
Corporate
-
Announcements Kinetic defers launch of Italjet scooters to April K. Giriprakash
Bangalore , Feb. 5 KINETIC Motor has put off the launch of scooters from the Italian two-wheeler maker, Italjet, to April, while its plans to set up a plant in Thailand have been put on the backburner. In another development, the deliveries of the 250 cc motorcycle, Comet, will begin later this month. Termed the costliest bike in India, the Rs 1.7 lakh Comet has been fully booked. Kinetic plans to sell only 500 of these bikes initially. The launch of Italjet scooters was put off because the market research for these scooters had not been completed. "It (market research) is now in the final stages and two of these scooters are ready for launch," a spokesperson said. Kinetic has also decided not to pursue its plans to set up an assembly plant in Thailand till the new launches kick off. The spokesperson said that Kinetic had identified the 125 cc Jet Set and the 150 cc Millennium from the seven short-listed Italjet scooters for launching them in the first phase. Depending on the market research, one of the two will be launched first. Kinetic had earlier announced that the first of the Italjet scooters would be launched during the third quarter of last year. The company has acquired exclusive domestic and international rights from Italjet to manufacture and distribute its scooters. The Jet Set has a car-like headlight, while the Millennium is a large `maxiscooter' with bold styling and a big visor and two step seating. The other scooters shortlisted for launch in India include Dragster, Formula, Torpedo, and Velocifero, and range from 75 cc to 250 cc. The price of the scooter to be launched in April will be decided nearer the launch date. The spokesperson said that there would be no cannibalisation of other existing Kinetic models once scooters from Italjet are launched. "They will form a new segment of their own once they are launched." Kinetic currently has the 72 cc Zing priced at about Rs 25,000 and the 135 cc Nova scooters priced at about Rs 37,000 in the same segment. With these launches, Kinetic expects to garner a larger share of the scooter market in the country. According to industry estimates, 7.5-8 lakh gearless scooters are sold in a year, which is double that of geared scooters.
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|