Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI)had previously announced that it is preparing to launch a new 160 cc bike in the second quarter of this fiscal (July to September 2014) in what seems to be another effort to gain market traction in the premium commuter segment (150-180cc). After Yamaha came out with th, HMSI also aims at being recognized as a serious competitor in the premium commuter segment with the new Honda 160cc motorcycle. As on date, the CB Unicorn stands as the sole successful model in this segment in the local market but the upcoming model is promised to be a sportier and stylish version of the CB Trigger with strong emphasis on tech and fuel efficiency.
While Honda added the CB Trigger to its stable in mid-2013, the model failed to deliver in terms of big numbers. The upcoming premium commuter bike will be powered by a slightly more powerful single-cylinder, 160cc, four-stroke engine and will be sportier than HMSI’s existing 150cc models. An insider who is aware of the project told Autocar Pro that “Honda has been largely struggling in the 150cc segment for a very long time, it has taken sizeable gaps in updating the existing model(s) as well as introducing a new model, and the latest was the CB Trigger last year.”
Though Honda has given nothing away, the CX-01 Concept on display at the Auto-Expo 2014 may be used as a template for this mysterious bike, what we are fairly certain about is that the bike will be launched around Diwali. The two wheeler major is also working on a third member of the Dream family of 110 cc commuter bikes, which is also scheduled for a launch in festive season.
HMSI quickly rose to become the second largest two wheeler maker in India, riding on the success of the Activa, which ended the last fiscal as the second best selling two wheeler in the sub-continent. But they failed to consistently compete with the likes of Bajaj Pulsar 150 and The Yamaha FZ series. HMSI managed to sell 323,224 units (172,119 scooters and 151,105 motorcycles) in June which is a 28.29% growth compared to June 2013′s 251,936 units. Honda has set itself a sales target of 4.5 million units in this fiscal. And if these figures are to be achieved, the new Honda 160cc would need to hit the ground running.
