Bikes are making a comeback. But not the run-of-the mill two-wheelers. The young and the restless are giving luxury watches and even cars a go-by and gunning to own the two-wheeled luxury to make a style statement.
The sale of super bikes has been gathering pace in India.
Royal Enfield, the maker of the iconic Bullet, has been having a ball in recent times. Sale of the company’s bikes, which fall in the 250-500 cc engine capacity category, has grown 55 per cent in the first seven months of the fiscal. KTM’s 390 Duke and the RC390 which fall in this segment have also seen good numbers.
This apart, the Indian markets have been hotting up for super bikes and adventure bikes which have engine capacity ranging from over 500 cc to even above 1,000 cc. Harley-Davidson, the American super bike manufacturer, recently celebrated five years in India. Besides, the last two-three years have seen several other international players enter India. When Triumph — the British motorcycle manufacturer — came into India in late 2013, the company targeted about 500 units of sales in its first year. It went on to sell more than double that at about 1,300 bikes. Including bikes such as the Bonneville, Tiger, Thunderbird and Rocket Roadster, Triumph sells bikes in the price range of ₹7 lakh-25 lakh. For Italian brand Benelli, which came to India earlier this year through a tie-up with DSK Motowheels, India is its first destination in Asia. DSK has also brought Hyosung, the Korean manufacturer of premium bikes into India. Another Italian brand, Ducati, officially re-entered India earlier this year, opening its own dealerships, after severing its earlier tie-up with an automobile importer to sell its bikes in India.
So, what is driving these trends?
Young, rich and adventurous Indians An increasing young population and higher disposable incomes as a result of people moving up the corporate ladder early in life seems to be driving these sales. YS Guleria, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing at Honda Two-Wheeler, sees the 500-800 cc segment bikes being a big beneficiary of this trend. “For people getting into the higher income brackets, these bikes are a style statement to show that they have arrived,” he says. Honda has recently launched the CBR 650F, targeting these buyers. Rudratej Singh, President, Royal Enfield, explains how the average age of his customers has come down from 38-40, five to seven years ago to 28-32 right now. He says that India is beginning to catch up with other parts of the world in terms of people wanting to invest and reconnect with themselves. Indians today are going for passion investments — be it adventure/cruise riding, track riding or leisurely weekend riding.
This soaring spirit of adventure has seen several biking clubs mushroom across the country for group riding. Group of Delhi’s Superbikers (GODS), where members must own a motorcycle with a minimum capacity of 600 cc, Bangalore-based Hop on Gurls!, an all-women group of Royal Enfield owners, Goan Enthusiasts and Riders (GEARS) and Kolkata-based Wolves on Wheels and are some such clubs.
To encourage greater interaction among their customers, manufacturers have set up their own biking clubs too. Suzuki Biking Lords, Riders Association of Triumph (RAT), Hyryders (DSK Hyosung) and Harley Owners Group (Harley-Davidson) are some such groups.
Ease of buying and service Users of sports and adventure bikes may belong to the creamy layer and typically have high affordability. But availability of financing options also helps,given that super bikes can cost anywhere up to ₹25-30 lakh.
Banks, such as HDFC Bank and State Bank of India, offer loans for super bikes. HDFC Bank classifies any bike with engine capacity above 250 cc as a super bike while SBI keeps the bar higher at 500 cc. Ashok Khanna, Group Head, Vehicle Loan, HDFC Bank, says that most of the super bike buyers who approach the bank are affluent, with over half the loan seekers being self-employed. IT professionals, architects, pilots, film personalities and entrepreneurs are among the most common buyers. According to him, bikes with engine capacity of 500 cc-800 cc account for 45 per cent of the total loans booked at the bank while the >800 cc segment accounts for 40 per cent. Their average ticket size is over ₹6 lakh.
Manufacturers are also putting in efforts to improve customer comfort. For bikes, such as the new CBR 650F for example, Honda is offering regular maintenance services at the site of the customer itself, by flying in its technicians. For both Benelli and Hyosung, DSK offers all year-round breakdown service, functional through the night.
Eye on pricing Well-thought-out pricing is also encouraging sales of premium bikes in India. “If you look at brands that are doing well, apart from being good products, the extent they offer value for money to the customer also plays a role,” explains Amit Nandi, Senior Vice-President and Head of KTM Motorcycles in India at Bajaj Auto. This is perhaps one of the reasons why both Nandi and Singh of Royal Enfield believe that there is good demand and greater potential for growth in the 250 cc to 800 cc category bikes, which provide a fine balance between price and feel, rather than those above 800 cc, which still remains niche. BMW Motorrad is also betting big on 250 cc - 500 cc bikes, through it’s a tie-up for local manufacturing with TVS.
Considering that local assembly of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles work out cheaper than import of completely built units (CBUs) due to lower taxes on the former, manufacturers are building more of their brands locally to reduce costs. Triumph, assembles its CKD imports at its plant at Manesar in Haryana while Benelli’s CKD imports are assembled at a plant in Maharashtra.
All said, it doesn’t matter how the bike is made, because when you zip by on this mean machine, with the wind blowing on your face, the feel of freedom is priceless.