DSK Motowheels, part of the R4,000-crore DSK Group, is looking at a bigger play in the automobile market. The company, that is currently responsible for the sale of Hyosung high-end bikes of South Korean S&T Motors, wants to enter the commuter bike segment with its own models next year. It also plans to launch a 100-cc scooter in the country.
?We will enter the commuter segment with a 125 and 150-cc motorcycle by end of next year,? Shirish Kulkarni, director, DSK Motowheels, said. ?These bikes will be designed DSK while the engine technology would come from S&T Motors,? he said. ?They (S&T Motors) have a 125-cc engine ready.?
DSK plans to get the 150-cc motorcycle first in the market followed by a 125-cc motorcycle. Kulkarni pointed on the pricing hitch in getting the electric scooter of S&T Motor to India. Instead, he said DSK hopes to develop its own and launch a 100-cc scooter in the coming years.
To support its plan, DSK is setting up an assembly plant in Satara district of Maharashtra at an investment of R400 crore, which is part DSK promoter money and part bank loan. DSK is investing alone in the assembly plant. The construction is expected to start from March and be ready by end of next year.
On the onset, DSK would assembly the high-end Hyusong bikes including GT650R (2013), GT650N, Aquila Pro and ST7 at the plant.
Meanwhile on Wednesday it launched the GT650R (2013) and Aquila Pro in the country at R4.99 lakh and R4.79 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi).
?We would focus on 250-cc, 650-cc and 700-cc motorcycle segment in India,? said Jimmy Park, MD, S&T Motors.