Suzuki Motorcycle to pull out of commuter bikes segment in India

Chennai: As the commuter motorcycle segment shrinks, more and more MNC two-wheeler brands are turning away from mass market bikes and focusing on higher displacement premium and lifestyle motorcycle products. The latest to pull out entirely from commuter bikes and focus attention on the higher displacement motorcycle and scooter market is Suzuki Motorcycle India. Like fellow Japanese two-wheeler major Yamaha, Suzuki too is re-focusing all its product and marketing attention away from low-margin but bigger volume commuter bikes to high margin sports and cruiser bikes in the 150 cc segment and above with price tags that are in the Rs 1 lakh plus range.

The company which rolled out Gixxer SF250 with a price tag of Rs 1.7 lakh on Monday, will henceforth look at higher value, higher displacement products from here on, said Devashish Handa, VP marketing. “As part of our clear cut new product strategy, all our new motorcycle introductions will be greater than 150 cc displacement starting from Gixxer SF250 onwards,” he said. “All new product introductions will be higher than this category and we do not intend to be in the commuter part of the market at all. We would like to satisfy the aspirational and passion need of the customer instead of functional needs,” he explained.

What this means in product strategy terms is that the company will focus on a couple of sweet spots in the 150 cc plus category. “In the short term (this year and next) we would be targeting the sports motorcycle category to customers who want another option from say a Bajaj Pulsar 220F or a Yamaha Fazer 25,” said Handa. “We are looking at a customer who is young and urban because in terms of network, 50% of our 500 dealerships are in metro or tier 1 cities,” he added.

Already the company has relaunched its earlier 150 cc bike GS150R as Gixxer SF while its Hayate is no longer being produced. All the products it has launched in the last one year are in the performance category and and future products will sport bigger engines and pricier tags as well. “All our introductions will be higher up the value chain,” said Handa. That goes for both the scooter and motorcycle launches. “Going ahead, we will introduce two products every year in scooters and bikes and all these will be upwards of where we are now in terms of engine displacements,” he added.

The whole idea is to tap the upgrade hungry committed sports biker. “We are looking at someone who already knows something about sports bikes and is not a novice,” said Handa. That holds true as much for the 250 cc segment as for the higher displacement bikes like the GSX S750, the GSX R1000 or the V Strom 650. “Going forward, we would want to have an increased play in cruiser bikes,” he said.

The company, which expects to hit its current installed capacity of just over 1 million units this year, is also planning its second factory on which it will take a call this year.


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