CB 300R patented in India

It seems the 300 - 400 cc segment in India is getting hotter and attractive. Just after news of Kawasaki developing a naked version of Ninja 400, Honda has got its naked motorcycle CB 300R patented in India. This does not confirm whether it will be launched in India or not but chances are bright that it will see the light of the day here. More so as its 250 cc product i.e. CBR 250R has failed to get the people back to Honda showrooms.

CB 300R has a single cylinder engine with 286 cc volume, generating 31 horse power and 27.5 newton meter of torque.

If launched here, it will face competition from Yamaha FZ 25, BMW 310R and Duke 250.

BMW and Audi fights on Twitter

It all started with a twitter post by BMW to advertise its car M4 -

Hope you noticed something that Audi definitely noticed. So, it responded -

The Rings, Audi's rings. What else.. 

But then BMW gave a witty comment to the whole ring episode.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Kawasaki bringing Z 400 soon

After Ninja 400, it is the naked version of this machine that will create flutter in motorcycle world. Kawasaki has started preparing for the unveiling of this machine and soon it is likely to be shown to the world in the EICMA Auto Show in Italy in November this year.

The naked version will be called Z 400 and will be having a sharper shape than the outgoing Z 300. It will run on the same 49 horse power engine having two cylinders. This, coupled with 38 Newton Meter of torque, will make the Z 400 a superior machine to its competitor like MT 03 and Duke 390.

The only issue that needs to see is the pricing in a market like India. We expect it to be priced somewhere near Z 300 elsewhere in the world, but it is entirely different story in India. Recently launched Ninja 400 is priced here as high as the blue sky and that drops the hint that Z 400 will be no different in terms of pricing.

If that happens, Z 400 will be seen more in showrooms than on roads. What a pity.

But will Z 400 be launched here in India?

Of course yes. Just wait.

Top 10 Best Selling Cars in India - July 2018

Given below is the list of 10 best selling cars in India during July 2018 along with no. of units sold (figure rounded off to nearest 100).

1. Suzuki Dzire- 25600
2. Suzuki Alto - 23400

3. Suzuki Swift - 20000

4. Suzuki Baleno - 18000
5. Suzuki Wagon R - 14300

6. Suzuki Brezza - 14200
7. Hyundai Elite i20 -  10800
8. Hyundai Grand i10 - 10800
9. Hyundai Creta - 10400
10. Honda Amaze - 10200

As can be seen, the list is dominated by Suzuki products with 6 of its products getting the first 6 places in top 10. Overall also, Suzuki maintained its undisputed, unchallenged position in the Indian car market with a market share of around 53 per cent. It sold 152,400 cars during the month. 

Honda managed to get one of its product be included in the top 10 list. This is new Amaze, a compact sedan which has attracted significant amount of customers. Honda has also stepped up to number 3 position, after Suzuki and Hyundai. 4th and 5th positions were taken by Mahindra and Tata.

Last 3 positions were held by usual suspects i.e Mitsubishi (nil), Fiat (29 units) and Nissan (553 units). Nissan's cousin Renault sold (6217 units) more than 10 times of cars sold by Nissan.

There is nothing to mention about Volkswagen, Skoda, Datsun, Jeep etc. whose market share was not even one per cent for each.

Toyota and Suzuki: Working Together

Toyota and Suzuki have decided to work together in India to produce and sell cars. Toyota has high capacity plant in India which was unable to be fully used due to not so high demand of Toyota products except Fortuner and Innova. On the other hand, Suzuki is still the number one car company in India and is unable to meet the demand for some of its products like Baleno, Swift, Brezza and Dzire.

Suzuki will get these products manufactured at Toyota plant. These products will also be sold through Toyota dealerships.

Besides these arrangements, Toyota and Suzuki will develop jointly an ultra high fuel efficient engine.

Top 10 Best Selling Cars in India - June 2017

Given below is the list of 10 best selling cars in India during June 2017 along with no. of units sold.

1. Suzuki Alto- 14856
2. Hyundai i10 Grand - 12317
3. Suzuki Dzire - 12049
4. Suzuki Wagon R - 10668
5. Hyundai Elite i20 -  10609
6. Suzuki Swift - 9902
7. Suzuki Baleno - 9057
8. Suzuki Brezza - 8293
9. Hyundai Creta - 6436
10. Suzuki Celerio - 6375

As can be seen, the list is dominated by Suzuki products. Companies like Honda and Mahindra whose products used to get one or two places in the list, have been brutally thrown out of the window. Suzuki has continued to be no. 1 in the total sales also with more than 93,000 units sold during the month which converts to 47.7 per cent market share. 

In the second position is Hyundai, with 37,562 units. Mahindra, Honda and Tata are at no. 3, 4 and 5. Toyota, which used to roam around at 3rd or 4th position, has slipped to 10th for reasons best known to them. It managed to sell less than 2,000 units.

Last positions were held by usual suspects i.e Mitsubishi (nil), Fiat (210 units) and surprisingly Chevrolet (642 units). Surprisingly, as Chevy had announced its exit plan from India. Seems that lucrative discounts offered by dealers were too much lucrative. Dear Chevy customer, who is going to service and repair your new car? 

There is nothing to mention about Skoda, Datsun, Nissan etc whose market share was not more than 2 per cent for each. Probably, one day....in top 10....sweet dreams.

Kawasaki Ninja 1000 and Z 900 launched in India

While other companies are increasing the number of their products in India slowly, Kawasaki is making aggressive moves and brining new motorcycles every now and then. After introducing the new Ninja 650, Z650 and the Z900 in the market a few months back, the Japanese auto giant has now launched the 2017 Ninja 1000 along with a stripped-down version of the Z900.  

Ninja 1000
Priced at Rs 9.98 lakh (ex-showroom), the Kawasaki Ninja 1000 is not all-new but gets a facelift update in India. The high-performance sport tourer retains the same chassis along with the same powertrain from the outgoing model.

Though it looks much similar to its predecessor, there are lots of changes in design which are further complimented with a revised colour scheme. The front fairing is wider and the windshield is taller (15mm) which is also adjustable up to three levels without any tool.  

The bike also gets improved LED headlamp units which are said to provide better low and high beam projection, using 50 per cent less power.

The Ninja ZX-10R derived 1,043cc, inline-four motor in the Kawasaki Ninja 1000 delivers 142PS at 10,000rpm and 111Nm of torque at 7,300rpm. The engine comes mated to a six-speed gearbox using a slipper clutch arrangement for flawless shifting.

Other key features of the bike include fully adjustable suspension, KIBS (Kawasaki Intelligent anti-lock Brake System), KCMF (Kawasaki Cornering Management Function) and three-mode KTRC (Kawasaki Traction Control).

While it will be assembled locally to retail in India, the company has allowed just 20 units of the Ninja 1000 for the market.  

Kawasaki Z900

It is the same Kawasaki Z900 which is already on sale in India but with some cost cutting. For that, the company has reduced some accessories which were earlier available standard with the bike.

The eliminated package includes a flyscreen, a gel tank pad, premium seat cover, pillion seat cowl with rider back support, 12V charging socket on the handlebar, crash bobbins for the front forks, engine guards, engine casing covers and a radiator guard.

The Z900 which was priced at Rs 9 lakh, will be available in the cost-cut version for just Rs 7.68 lakh (ex-showroom). Now, this is enough to give sleepless nights to the competitors, which are Ducati Monster 797 and Triumph Street Triple S. 

Honda discontinues Mobilio

Honda has removed Mobilio from its official website in India indicating that it is going to stop the production of this van. No official announcement regarding its removal or reasons thereof have been made yet by Honda.

The Mobilio was launched in July 2014. It was meant to compete with likes of Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. However, it was built on the Brio platform and Honda did some apparent cost cutting that spoilt the MPV's overall package. It was a product looking poor from every angle, from a famous company like Honda. The dashboard was a copy of one in Brio hatchback. As a result, it never managed to find a dedicated target audience in the Indian market. Monthly sales were poor, near the 100 unit mark, which wasn't enough to have a separate product in the portfolio.

Moreover, when Honda launched BR-V crossover in India, Mobilio became a redundant offering. The BR-V came at a similar price tag, was built on the same platform, but didn't suffer from any significant cost cutting issues. Moreover, thanks to its SUV-like face, the BR-V looked visually more appealing than the Mobilio. It also came with an updated dashboard. This further hit the Mobilio's sales and Honda appears to have finally got rid of the slow-selling MPV in India.

It is also worth noting that Honda has already introduced a mid-life facelift of the Mobilio in Indonesia. However, the updated model is unlikely to make it to India, owing to the low popularity of the Mobilio in our market.

Ducati: Timeslines for return of discontinued motorcycles

Recently, Ducati India discontinued 5 motorcycles in India as these did not meet current emission norms BS-IV. These were:

1. Diavel
2. Monster 821
3. 1299 Panigale
4. Panigale R and 
5. Scrambler Urban Enduro.

Scrambler Urban Enduro

Now, Ducati has announced the time by which new versions of two of these motorcycles meeting current emission norms will be back in India. Ducati Diavel Diesel and Ducati Diavel will arrive in the months of August and October respectively. Ducati Monster 821 will reach Indian dealerships in October 2017. There has been no word about other motorcycles. 

Ducati has proved itself better than companies like Honda, Yamaha who also withdrew their products like CBR 250R, R3 from Indian market for not meeting emission norms but have not announced when the updated versions will be available or will these be available at all?

Benelli 302 R: Coming in July

DSK's Benelli 302R is all set to enter India in first week of July this year. In the 300-500 cc category, customers do not have much choice as only Kawasaki's Ninja 300, KTM's Duke and RC, Bajaj Dominar, Mahindra Mojo and RE products are on offer. Recently, Yamaha removed its R3 from the product list as it was not in conformity with the emission standards. Nobody knows when it will come back. Even Yamaha does not know that.

DSK dealers have started taking advance bookings for Benelli 302R. The bookings can be made at any of the DSK Benelli showrooms located across the country.

Mr. Shirish Kulkarni, Chairman, DSK Motowheels said, "It is quite overwhelming to see that DSK Benelli 302R is receiving such a positive customer response even before it has entered the market. This signifies the trust and brand salience that DSK Benelli has been able to develop amongst the Indian motorcycle enthusiasts. What's more remarkable about 302R is the fact that the fully faired sports bike is a true manifestation of the Tornado pedigree, whose legacy has enchanted the global superbiking community for about half a century now. Since advance bookings for the premium bike have been initiated, we are foreseeing strong disruptions in the Indian mid-range biking segment."

DSK Benelli 302R has a 300cc, in-line two cylinder, water-cooled, four-stroke engine. The launch of the sports bike is being perceived as DSK Benelli's attempt to capture the massive and growing mid-range biking segment and acquainting more customers with superbiking through an entry-level motorcycle.

Ducati discontinues 5 motorcycles in India

Ducati India has discontinued 5 motorcycles in India as these do not meet current emission norms BS-IV. These are:

1. Diavel
2. Monster 821
3. 1299 Panigale
4. Panigale R and 
5. Scrambler Urban Enduro.

Scrambler Urban Enduro

With this, Ducati has joined companies like Honda, Yamaha who have withdrawn their products like CBR 250R, R3 from Indian market for not meeting emission norms. Surprisingly, the emission norms came into effect from 1 April this year but Ducati decided to withdraw products around two and half months after ban on BS-III vehicles was effected. Ducati has not announced when the updated versions will be available.

Ducati retails these motorcycles in Euro 4 compliant versions in Europe. Interestingly, the Ducati Diavel Diesel, based on the standard Diavel, continues to be on sale in India.Ducati has just launched Monster 797 and Multistrada 950 in India. The Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled, Ducati Scrambler Café Racer, and Ducati SuperSport will be launched later this year.The Ducati Monster 797 is the smallest model in the Monster line and uses the same air-cooled powerplant seen in the Scrambler. The Multistrada 950 is a toned-down version of the Multistrada 1200 Enduro with the engine tracing its origins to the Hypermotard 939.