Suzuki Motorcycles to ramp up production

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Chennai: Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL), a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, will increase its production capacity to 4,00,000 units per annum in the next two to three years, as against 1,75,000 units per annum now. The company will focus on launching bikes in the premium segment in the country, in order to cash in on demand and increase its sales, said Anand Thakur, zonal head (South and West), SMIPL.

In this regard, the company, on Tuesday, announced its entry into the 150 cc segment with the launch of GS150R motorcycle in Chennai.

It hopes to take on competitors like as Yamaha, TVS, Bajaj and Hero Honda in a big way through this bike, said Thakur. “The premium segment looks promising and will grow faster than others,” he said, adding that the share of the ungeared scooters has gone up from 37% in 2003 to 91% now.

Following the overwhelming response to its 125 cc scooter, Access, which has a waiting period of up to three months, the company has decided to increase its production to 2,50,000 units a year. Production was at 1,75,000 units during 2008; SMIPL plans to increase the production of Access to 400,000 units within the next two years, said Thakur.

“We will be investing close to Rs 150 crore to ramp up production,” he noted. Suzuki Motorcycle India is currently sells 9,000 units a month on an average. This will be scaled up sharply.

In order to increase its market share from 1.2% to a “decent level” in the next two years, the company has entered into tie ups with public sector banks such as Corporation Bank and Allahabad Bank.

“We will be adding two more banks to provide retail finance for our bikes,” said Thakur.

Earlier, announcing the company's entry into the 150 cc motorcycle segment with GS150R, he said, “We, at Suzuki, have geared to spice the competition with our impulsive launch. Packed with a combination of new features, terrific power and trendy look, we hope to capture 10% market share of the 45,000 units a month 150 cc motorcycle segment in India in the next four months.”

The bike has been positioned midway, between the economy and premium in the 150 cc segment.