[rahulskumar]

I feel BMW should collaborate with TVS and launched maxi scooter priced around 5 lakhs. Current pricing is at par with F900R that has more than double the displacement. I would rather buy a Polo TSI and roam around the country for this price.

[Mr.Ogre]

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

I feel BMW should collaborate with TVS and launched maxi scooter priced around 5 lakhs. Current pricing is at par with F900R that has more than double the displacement. I would rather buy a Polo TSI and roam around the country for this price.

Maxi scooters generally are priced at a premium compared to a similar capacity geared motorbike.



Moreover big ticket purchase especially two wheels is not for people who think four wheels would be a better buy. Which it is. However, in this case I agree the pricing is overly optimistic, and I am not sure why they didn't leverage the 300 cc motor they had developed with TVS. May have kept the cost down.

[Sebring]

This is a lifestyle product and can't be compared using engine displacement alone. It's a Louis Vuitton among two wheelers, and we can't question 'why the price?', as there will always be buyers who are looking for exclusivity.

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

Current pricing is at par with F900R that has more than double the displacement. I would rather buy a Polo TSI and roam around the country for this price.

[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by Sebring

This is a lifestyle product and can't be compared using engine displacement along. It's a Louis Vuitton among two wheelers, and we can't question 'why the price?', as there will always be buyers who are looking for exclusivity

But isn't this something that falls in neither territory? At 350cc, strictly average performance figures, no great features to talk of and pegged at a ridiculous price, I feel it neither offers exclusivity nor a semblance of value. I will be really curious to see if it garners more than a handful of buyers. A higher capacity engine, maybe 700-800cc with some added luxury features like massaging seats for eg, at the same price would have made it more desirable. My feeling

[Sebring]

A 'Halo' product works more for the brand than the consumer by this virtue alone. This maxi-scooter will stay 'top-of-the-line' showcasing the tech and will rub off on products beneath - with, say the engine they co-developed with TVS (Just as an example). If they launch a scooter with that motor, and a sticker price of under Rs 5 Lakhs, the consumer thinks of it as a bargain and laps it up. So this strategy works for long term positioning of everything under that umbrella. Regarding this product, 'exclusivity' is guaranteed with only a few units being available and soon those shall be lapped up.

Originally Posted by dinu2506

I feel it neither offers exclusivity nor a semblance of value. I will be really curious to see if it garners more than a handful of buyers. A higher capacity engine, maybe 700-800cc with some added luxury features like massaging seats for eg, at the same price would have made it more desirable. My feeling

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Did, I read that correct?
Rs/CC, this has to be one of the most expensive contraption on our roads.
Apart from gracing the garage of few elite people, i don't think they will be able to sell many of these.

You have no idea how many YouTubers will buy one, just for content creation and subscribers increase.

Jokes aside, it will find some takers, who want luxury + avoid the hassle of a very powerful motorbike. These large capacity maxi scooters are actually very comfortable vehicles to road trip on, anywhere there is a road.

Hope the 300-400cc maxi scooter segment opens up. Yamaha, Piaggio, Honda, all have offerings that can make sense in India, at right prices.

[RT13]

I love the idea of a maxi scooter. But, apart from the price, touring on it in India just sounds painful. No matter what, the laidback seating position is terrible for the back over the long run given bad roads. I have friends who toured on them and they’re wonderful IF you have fantastic tarmac. My buddy used one in the US for years and across Europe. In India… My back aches just thinking about it. I think it’ll be relegated to grocery runs, if the uber wealthy ever do buy groceries themselves that is. But it’s nice to have one sitting in your garage I suppose.

Man, the Aerox is just great value. If Yamaha ever chose to plonk the R3 engine on a similar platform. I think it’d be a real brute with more than a few takers too.

[SoumenD]

All this has done for me is make the Aerox 155 look ultra-attractive now

[Sebring]

Yes, it has certainly put the focus on the segment - 'maxi-scooters'. I guess this is what a 'Halo' does. In the sense that the whole category grows

Originally Posted by SoumenD

All this has done for me is make the Aerox 155 look ultra-attractive now

[dinu2506]

I'm still unsure of a market segment for maxi-scooters. Even if it is there, it could be a very small one. The commuter segment buyers are unlikely to gravitate towards the max-scooters as they may not see a value in paying more for something that already meets their day to day needs. People having a bit more disposable income might look at maxi-scooters as an alternative which could be a relatively small number. Will be interesting to watch how this market matures. I personally don't see it booming. Just got reminded of the first max-scooter of the times in India which did not meet with much success - the Kinetic Blaze 160

[BennyA23]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ogre

Maxi scooters generally are priced at a premium compared to a similar capacity geared motorbike.

This. More people need to understand the category a bit more. Its not your unbalanced Activa or tacky speed scooters in the >150CC category.

These are loaded with electronics, extremely comfortable and quite powerful tourers.

Need to give it to BMW for giving it a hard try, hope to see more like it!

[SoumenD]

Deliveries started. I guess that’s the real customer base for this Halo product.

https://youtu.be/6umXRljOfDw

[Turbanator]

0001 number just for 50K in Mumbai? An OT observation but after seeing the launch prices, I don’t have anything else to comment.

Perhaps good for people having super luxury stuff (not regular BMW/ MB).

[coolmel]

Instead of this I will happily buy a dozen electric scooters and put them to good use. Or maybe even donate to a few needy people. India never had the market for maxi scooters and now with the advent of electric ones, never will.

[nitro.1000bhp]

Originally Posted by coolmel

Instead of this I will happily buy a dozen electric scooters and put them to good use. Or maybe even donate to a few needy people. India never had the market for maxi scooters and now with the advent of electric ones, never will.

There definitely is a market in India for maxi scooters but not at absurd prices.

If they come up with a 300cc under 3L or 200 under 2L I think there is a niche but still a sizeable market for these.

For it to happen they have to be manufactured here and for that to happen they need to know there will be decent sales. It's a viscious circle. But yamaha bringing the aeroxx might open up the market and acceptability for maxi scoots in general. Right now the consensus is still that a motorbike is 'better' than a scooter. But as the market matures they may come to realise that they're very different tools indeed. The practicality offered by a maxi scooter cannot be matched by any bike.

I was riding around in a forza300 with a top box around Thailand. Man! That thing can swallow the kitchen sink and a half under the seat and a couple of helmets in the top box. That kind of storage is just unheard of in any 2 wheeler in our country. Must see it to believe. Oh and it can do 120 all day and lean like a superbike.