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Japanese brand Honda have been in India for a while, and have grown from strength to strength in their time here. Today they are vying for the top spots of the mass market, but aren’t exactly a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the premium side of the spectrum. All that is set to change though.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India have announced the launch of Honda BigWing, exclusive showrooms created to cater exclusively to the brand’s more premium offerings. As of right now these offerings begin with the new CB300R and include its older sibling the CB1000R, along with the CBR650R, the CBR1000RR Fireblade and Fireblade SP, the Africa Twin adventure tourer and the mighty GL1800 Gold Wing. The first of these bespoke BigWing showrooms to open its doors is in Gurugram, with more to follow. The brand has also launched a dedicated BigWing website that supports this new initiative.

Speaking regarding this initiative, Minoru Kato, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said “Earlier this year, we made a commitment of expanding our premium motorcycle business in India under Honda’s Silver Wing-Mark. Riding on strong global legacy of Honda’s engineering and design philosophy, Honda BigWing will introduce Indian motorcycling enthusiasts to a new side of Honda providing them with exceptional personalised experience.”

A great initiative to boost their big bike sales, lets hope this new vertical also encourages Honda to augment their lineup here with some of the more popular big bikes in their international range – the retro modern CB1100, the street naked CB1000R, and the VRF800F and even the 300 and 500 Rebel cruiser range would all be welcome here.

[SoumenD]

So the CBR 250R has been given a miss. Hope they service the relevant bikes here as well. Am sure the premium customers would prefer that rather than sharing service spot with the sea of Activas

But hopefully this doesn't translate to increase in prices for the 300

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Will be interesting to see if the service costs remain the same once the new setup is in place. Or is this new network only for sales?

IMHO - Honda always had the lowest service charges due to sharing of infrastructure with their mass segment vehicles.

[NH08]

The first Honda Big Wing showroom in India has been opened in Gurugram at ABW Tower, IFFCO Chowk. At the showroom's inauguration, Honda also completed deliveries of the Gold Wing, Africa Twin, and CB300R to customers.

Honda's service cost for its big bikes have been reasonable. Hope this new initiative of separate showrooms for these bikes will make the buying/servicing experience better.

[lionell]

Wow the showroom looks swell, unlike some other big bike brands which have tiny floor spaces. Maybe this format isn't replicable in all cities or spaces but its a great start.

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Will be interesting to see if the service costs remain the same once the new setup is in place. Or is this new network only for sales?

IMHO - Honda always had the lowest service charges due to sharing of infrastructure with their mass segment vehicles.

That's a good point.

It would be interesting to see if the dealers change tactics after investing in a separate facility for the higher capacity bikes.

Here in Pune, there is just one dealer, and their showroom facility costs were pretty much non-existent as the existing facility meant for the Activas (and other smaller capacity products) was being used to sell and service the big bikes. There wasn't any dedicated showroom floor-space where the big bikes were displayed.

Let's hope dealers don't resort to tactics like adding handling charges and increasing the service cost, in order to recover the initial investment.

On another note, the design of the showroom looks stunning to say the least and beats even the BMW Motorrad ones! Way to go, Honda!

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Will be interesting to see if the service costs remain the same once the new setup is in place. Or is this new network only for sales?

The last picture in the opening post does show the service station so I guess that it will be a 3S setup.

[AtheK]

Great looking showroom, and deserving experience for big bike buyers. Would have been good if Honda had complimented this with CBR650R reveal and price announcement. The way they are treating the launch, it looks very poorly thought of.

[GTO]

Wow, our market has really matured. We saw Maruti making Nexa a success, there are so many dedicated used car dealerships in the organised sector, we have lots of Supercar dealerships and now, a different channel for big bikes .

Question to bikers = Are big bike volumes enough to bring a return on the investment?

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Will be interesting to see if the service costs remain the same once the new setup is in place. Or is this new network only for sales?

Service too. Sharing the full press release:

Honda debuts its exclusive premium retail in India


• The premium Silver Wing-Mark to spearhead Honda’s fun motorcycling business in India
• Differentiated immersive experience for premium motorcycle customers
• Exclusive one-stop sales & service centre for Honda big bikes
• Honda’s big bike portfolio from new CB300R to the mighty GL1800 Gold Wing
• Dedicated Honda BigWing web site www.HondaBigWing.in launched

Gurugram, April 18, 2019: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. today announced its next step in providing fun mobility in India with the establishment of new premium big bike business vertical – the Honda BigWing.

Honda BigWing – represented by its silver wing-mark identity will deliver a differentiated immersive experience and introduce new fun into the fast growing premium motorcycling segment in India.
After delighting discerning customers in other South East Asian countries, Honda inaugurated India’s first exclusive & premium BigWing in Gurugram at ABW Tower, IFFCO Chowk and also made the first milestone deliveries to GoldWing, Africa Twin and CB300R customers.

Be it urban riding, circuit racing or luxury touring, Honda’s BigWing will cater to all categories of premium motorcycle customers. With a sprawling sales and service area, Honda BigWing-Gurugram will provide personalised customer experience and after sales service exclusively for Honda big bike models ranging from 300cc CB300R to the mighty 1800cc Goldwing.
With a state of art infrastructure, Honda BigWing features ‘Go Riding!!’ concept - a call to all motorcycling enthusiasts to embark on new fun expeditions.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Minoru Kato, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said “Earlier this year, we made a commitment of expanding our premium motorcycle business in India under Honda’s Silver Wing-Mark. Riding on strong global legacy of Honda’s engineering and design philosophy, Honda BigWing will introduce Indian motorcycling enthusiasts to a new side of Honda providing them with exceptional personalised experience”

Commenting on unveiling of first BigWing dealership in India, Mr. Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said “Honda BigWing is an outcome of our strong determination to create a differentiated immersive experience for our big bike customers. We are happy to announce India’s first BigWing in Gurugram (Haryana) which will serve as a roadmap for further expansion of iconic Silver Wing Mark in India.”

Honda’s Pride
The core value of Honda BigWing is to create an environment to enhance joy of buying for the customer. The BigWing is designed to evoke emotions & highlight technology to let customers feel excitement & superior quality of Honda’s premium models, even before their first ride.

Big bikes ranging from the brand new Sports Roadster CB300R, Neo Sports Café inspired CB1000R, CBR1000RR Fireblade, CBR1000RR Fireblade SP, adventure tourer Africa Twin & street tourer GL1800 Gold Wing in a specially laid out display will brighten up any motorcyclist’s day. A dedicated corner with versatile range of accessories will enhance joy of riding and amplify new opportunities for customers.

Customer Experience
Overall distinctive concept is designed to provide a cool, sophisticated and premium atmosphere. To ensure maximum quality, Honda BigWing is equipped with best machinery and facilities. Be it a beginner exploring features of CB300R or an adventure seeker ready to ride home on his new Africa Twin, relationship managers at Honda BigWing will ensure customer’s visit & ownership experience is the best. An in-showroom event area, with a unique ambience will make customer’s most important moment – motorcycle delivery – memorable. The community lounge at showroom and service centre will provide customers a comfortable environment to enjoy Honda hospitality.

Customer Exclusivity
The monochromatic design theme of black & grey provides a quality stage for the motorcycles. Specialised product knowledge of industry experienced professionals will further excite customer curiosity. Easing the journey from search to purchase, a dedicated website www.HondaBigWing.in is also launched.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GTO

Question to bikers = Are big bike volumes enough to bring a return on the investment?

Honda sold 234 units of their big bikes in the year 2018, and traditionally had the least market share among the major players.

Service is the main revenue generator for these companies. Honda was an exception, having only a third of the service costs as compared to direct competition like Kawasaki or Suzuki. They shared infrastructure with the mass market segment (of which they are placed 2nd in the market), thus having good economies of scale.

Looks like that is about to change.

However, better focus on bigger bikes might lead to better pricing as well - as most big bikes from Honda were priced on the optimistic side earlier.

[sukiwa]

Quite a safe approach & glad that Honda finally did this even if it's late. Honda has been slow mover in this segment and don't think these new dealerships would translate to quicker launches of their premium bike range.

Premium bike dealerships would have been an item on someone's list in HMSI, now it got ticked. However, without new product launches and more sales, this doesn't look sustainable.

[samyD]

I genuinely think HMSI will launch its premium bikes quicker. (At the same time not expecting HMSI to be any less erratic with its timing of the launches owing to their love for risk aversion) So far HMSI has maintained a kind of subdued presence in the big bike market. Without more launches its hard to see where HMSI will get the returns on all this investment. Also, I think the service costs will be realigned as this will be exclusively utilised for the big bikes.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by GTO

Question to bikers = Are big bike volumes enough to bring a return on the investment?

Although I don't prefer expensive service, reality is, with lesser service cost compared to Kawi or Suzuki, it simply is not possible for HMSI to survive.

Even for Nexa, there's a premium of over 10% than the regular MASS. That 10% is 100% not sufficient for HMSI to survive for sure.

[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by GTO

Question to bikers = Are big bike volumes enough to bring a return on the investment?

Well, it's a little tricky to get an absolute answer for that at this point. But unlike the MS Nexa model, we'll at most see only one or two Big Wing sales/service outlets per state, just like how the current Honda "Wing world" outlets are. The Big wing outlets will replace the current wing world outlets and provide a more premium experience.

On the positive side, such investments also mean that HMSI is getting more and more serious about the premium bike segment which will translate to newer models being brought here.

Also, in a city like Bangalore, we're already cramped for space/service appointments, thanks to quite a decent number of bikes sold from the existing wing world dealer (one for entire Karnataka). With the CB300R coming in, we expect it to get worse. So for us, this is a welcome move.

[tarik.arora]

I think comparing this to Nexa is not right simply because in terms of volumes, Nexa is equivalent to Hyundai. Nexa is a brand in itself. As long as Hyundai survives, Nexa can easily survive and flourish.

For premium bikes, the story is different all together. Looking at Honda's sales numbers of ~250 units in the the last FY, i think Honda is banking big on the new 650 for volumes. Also, the service will definitely get expensive. Premium experience comes with a premium price tag!

In any case, this looks like a good move. In today's world, experience is what matters.