Suzuki’s somewhat sinking ship in India was saved by the new Gixxer 250 and Gixxer SF 250 that were launched last year. Based on the new styling, the company also launched the updated smaller-capacity Gixxer and Gixxer SF. While these bikes did improve its presence in the country, the overall sales were still far from what its management would have liked. So, it has decided to launch more new two-wheelers and expand its dealerships in the country.
At present, Suzuki has five motorcycles on sale and together they manage to get around 10% of the brand’s overall volumes. That’s not a figure to be happy about. On the other hand, the scooters account for 90% of the company's annual volumes. Keeping this in mind, Suzuki wants to increase its overall volumes in the domestic market from motorcycles to at least 20% within a year.
In the future, Suzuki will focus on bikes of 150 cc and above segment and won’t cater to the needs of consumers in the commuter segment. As far as scooters are concerned, the company would like to keep Access 125 and Burgman Street in its vision as well as prepare for some new launches in the future.
Suzuki also plans to expand its dealership network in India. Right now, it has 540 dealerships spread across the country and Suzuki wants to take this number up to at least 600 in the next fiscal. So, before Suzuki brings in new models, its primary aim is to increase its sales figures from its existing product line-up. It expects to sell around 7.2 lakh units in the current fiscal and around 8 lakh units in the next fiscal.
Also Read: First Suzuki electric scooter in India to be launched in 2021
Apart from having the Gixxer series and the aforementioned scooters, Suzuki also sells the 155 cc Intruder in the smaller-displacement segment. A 250 cc version of the same is expected to be launched this year. Suzuki also has the mighty Hayabusa, V-Strom 650, and GSX-S750 on sale in the country. The imported bike line-up in our market could see the addition of the SV650 and the Katana.
[Source: auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com]
