[wheelguy]

Suzuki Motorcycle India (SMIPL), the wholly-owned two-wheeler arm of Suzuki Motor Corp, plans to scale up its motorcycle business as it aims the segment to account for 20 per cent of its overall sales volumes in the domestic market, a top company official said.

The company, which currently sells five motorcycle models in the country, gets just around 10 per cent of its overall volumes from motorcycle sales. Scooter sales, on the other hand, account for 90 per cent of the company's annual volumes in the domestic market.

Terming the motorcycle segment as a "challenge" for the company in the country, Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) Managing Director Koichiro Hirao told that plans are afoot to enhance presence in the vertical in the next financial year. "This area (motorcycle segment) is our challenge. In order to push sales in the vertical we have already introduced new models and bike zones inside showrooms in order to give premium experience to the customer," he said.

When asked how much the company is aiming for the motorcycle segment to contribute towards company's overall volumes in the domestic market, Handa said: "We would like to take it up to atleast 20 per cent if we are lucky in a years time, that is our effort."

"We will bring in new products but the precise timeline is difficult to say. Our immediate focus would be to enhance the numbers from the current range that we have," Handa said.

He further said: "but we definitely have plans to get more products because we have long term plans in India and we would like to increase our presence much more then what it is today. That will be possible only if we get new products."

Handa said the company would focus on 150 cc and above segment and won't participate in the commuter segment.

"Our strength lies in performance bikes, value packed vehicles. We will continue to be in our strength area," he added.

"Besides, we also plan to have around 600 dealerships in the next fiscal," he added.

Source

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Looks like to be all sweet talk with no real basis.

Suzuki had attempted the volumes game earlier with the Zeus and the Hayate and exited without any success last year. They are not going to significantly increase their volumes with only the existing range of products.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

They are not going to significantly increase their volumes with only the existing range of products.

I'll agree with Suzuki when they say their strength is in value packed bikes. We have a few suzukis (scooters and bikes) in the family, and IMO, they make just very usable and pleasurable bikes. Seems a lot of their products focus on practicality and a good feel.

The problem is that new buyers rarely recognize this kind of value unless they're specifically looking for it... or unless Suzuki would make an in-your-face ad-campaign declaring the same.

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Looks like to be all sweet talk with no real basis.

Suzuki had attempted the volumes game earlier with the Zeus and the Hayate and exited without any success last year. They are not going to significantly increase their volumes with only the existing range of products.

This time, they can succeed, IIRC I read somewhere that they have tied up with Maruti to aid them in marketing etc. Even saw them displaying Suzuki bikes at Maruti Suzuki outlets here at Vizag.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

This time, they can succeed, IIRC I read somewhere that they have tied up with Maruti to aid them in marketing etc. Even saw them displaying Suzuki bikes at Maruti Suzuki outlets here at Vizag.

Won't be simple. I had asked a Maruti marketing dude about this, and he laughed it off. Said they know how to sell cars, not bikes as both require entirely different approaches / skill set. It's like asking me to officially review a motorcycle . I'll enjoy the ride, but I know nothing about motorcycles. Will be a disaster.

[gururajrv]

Suzuki?

I do not comprehend the approach of these Japanese bike makers. They’re all focused on catering to commuter focused population & ignore the enthusiasts. It’s only Kawasaki who have their independent approach of catering to the enthusiasts and are enjoying their share of success.

Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha are good at focusing on scooters & fighting for their share in the market. I know the money-cow is in this segment but think big to become big!

[drt_rdr]

Demand dictates supply. If the demand is much much higher for commuter class products, why should a business ignore it?

Even so, Suzuki failed and dropped out of the sub 150cc bike class and is now focusing on bikes for the "enthusiasts." And Suzuki makes some classy and well-thought-out bikes. But business is going to be forever slow for them until they market their strengths aggressively... because a lot of the enthusiast crowd in our country is in the age group that tends to go by aggressive marketing over actual riding and ownership merits of the bike.

[motorpsycho]

Suzuki once known for cult bikes, Like the Supra SS, Shogun, Shaolin and Fiero, Now I do not even know what line up they have. I hardly see a Suzuki bike on the road, apart from the occasional Access.

While they have a great line up to compete with other offerings, Like the DRZ400, V Strom 250, but they seem to have a disconnect with the market.

[rajushank84]

Indian two-wheeler market is easily crackable if the family buyer is targeted, which doesn't necessarily mean a focus on fuel efficiency alone. I think that is where most of the bike-makers are missing the point, they divide the market into

• Youth, that wants sporty bikes, and
• Family buyers who want 125cc mileage machines

On the other hand, I think they are missing a lot by going for extremes, and Royal Enfield is an example to show this. REs aren't fuel efficient at all, or low-maintenance. They are aspirational. A product like this would be a good hit:

• Family-friendly in terms of form factor (flat low seat, comfortable)
• Aspirational image: Classy looking, high displacement, nice sound
• Good network of service centers

A lot of manufacturers like TVS, Bajaj and Hero have the third bullet here, so they have the opportunity to provide the first two as well by building a nice retro styled bike. Something like a Dominar-based retro bike would be so easy to build, for example. I am curious to see which of them understands this need and actually does it, and Suzuki stands a chance among others here. Let's see if they will. Benelli and Jawa are taking stabs at this niche (which I suspect is not such a niche after all, the Indian practical buyer is ready to shell out more for a nicer bike), but Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki are better positioned in terms of dealer network. I hope they understand and bring in these bikes as locally-built affordable options. Yamaha can easily bring in something SR-400 based, and Suzuki build something derived from the Van-Van. Suzuki can build the TU250X locally, price it right and go directly head-to-head with RE too. Let's see if they "get" it .

[ku69rd]

Suzuki seems to be playing a kinda safe game. Limited models in terms of 150cc & 250cc with two version of the same. Their focus seems to be more on the Scooter Section where they have done commendably well with their 125cc Access.
If they need to make the next move away from the commuter segment, they must develop a product for India. Something in the range of 400cc, 35 BHP, 28-30 NM of Torque coupled with a dry weight of 150-160 kilos with a price tag of within 200K.
Not sure if this is wishful thinking but not hard to achieve (they have DRZ400 to gain inspiration from).
When RE can launch their 650cc Twins for a mouthwatering price tag, why not Suzuki who have a bigger R&D team with a richer experience. That should help them gain in the premium segment which is ruled by the RE.

[rulerofsun]

Suzuki needs to re-brand itself. I remember the days when they were with TVS and they had some of the best selling machines and also great aspiration values. The Shogun was one.

Right now they have no media attendance and even after good products the Gixxer and the access the only scooter doing well is the Burgman.

Re-brand and bring some Halo products come on you have the Hayabusa. Price them right and bring options. Bring a good Advertising company and smack the consumers on the face!

The Pulsars have great advertising where are you Suzuki. The time is past when you had a great product and the world wanted to buy it.

Now is the time of social media and attention spans of lesser than a gold fish.

Bring more products and do a Live young like campaign. Bring the history forget the FE!

[vigneshnr]

Originally Posted by rulerofsun

Suzuki needs to re-brand itself. I remember the days when they were with TVS and they had some of the best selling machines and also great aspiration values. The Shogun was one.

Definitely. They had better presence with the brands like Shogun, Samurai and who would forget the rally champ Fiero.

But they need to revisit their motorcycle range. However it will be an uphill task when the space is tightly held by established brands. In every segment, there are clear dominant brands.

They are talking about establishing in the segment >150cc.
Premium segment has long term big brands - Bajaj Pulsar, TVS Apache, Honda & Yamaha. Even the leader, Hero is trailing in this segment.