The cell comprises a marketing head, product manager, and two product executives; and a board of market research experts will soon be roped in too. Kinetic is also in the process of finalising a tie-up with a rural marketing agency.

Two, it is planning to spend over Rs 4 crore every year in the implementation and communication of its branded service initiative called Kinetic Care-and take it down to the grassroots. Beginning with top 100 towns, which account for nearly 65 per cent of motorcycle sales, Kinetic will gradually move down to rural markets.

``The new team is encouraged to get the first hand feel of the villages, its haats and melas, and its service requirements,'' says Sulajja Motwani, joint managing director, Kinetic Engineering Ltd, who plans to devote four days a month to meeting customers in villages.

Currently, rural markets account for around 50 per cent of overall motorcycle sales.

For the indigenously developed 100-cc bike (in technical assistance with WGL), Kinetic expects 30 per cent of sales to come from rural markets while the 125-cc Hoysang (to be launched in January 2000) would be largely a urbanproduct.

Motwani expects the motorcycle sales, which account for around 40 per cent of two-wheeler sales now, to rise to 50 per cent, which would be substantially driven by growth in the rural markets.