Honda Motorcycle launches sports bike CBR 250 R

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI) today launched its first 250 cc sports bike in the country and hoped to grow sales volume by 20-25 per cent in the face of sharp rise in interest rates.
 
"We sold 16.85 lakh units in FY'11. In the current fiscal, we plan to increase it to 21 lakh units. We will continue to grow faster than industry. The turnover is also expected to jump to Rs7,500 crore this year," company head, sales, N K Rattan said at the launch of the bike CBR 250R in Kolkata.
 
To cater to the growing demand, the company's second plant at Rajasthan would start production from the second half of this year. The new unit would roll out 6 lakh units a year in the first phase.
 
"We invested Rs500 crore in the second plant so far," Rattan said.

The company's latest offering is priced in the range of Rs1.46 lakh to Rs1.71 lakh ex-showroom Kolkata and, according to Rattan, the company planned to sell 30,000 units in India and export 10,000 units.

HMSI, hopes to sell 21 lakh motorcycles and scooters in the country this financial year, a top company executive said on Wednesday.

"We are eyeing sales of about 21 lakh units in the country this fiscal," Rattan said.

The company currently operates one production plant at Manesar in Haryana with a total capacity of 16 lakh units.
Stating that at present the company has a market share of 13 per cent in India, Rattan said: "We have a portfolio of six motorcycles, three scooters and three completely built-up (CBU) bikes."

He said the company was looking to launch anew scooter at the end of this financial year.

"At present, we have 425 dealers across the country and we will add another 100 this fiscal," he added