Chopper bikes are those modified as per the liking of the customer at a local garage
Avantura Choppers, which counts itself to be India’s first ultra-luxury chopper motorcycle maker, is in talks with several investors to raise funds for future expansion and new projects.
The Rs 20 crore boot-funded Mumbai-based start-up, having its manufacturing unit near Mumbai, has already launched two bikes in November -- Rudra and Pravega. Though the company has started accepting pre-bookings for the vehicles, the certificate from the regulatory body is still awaited post which the delivery may begin.
Both the bikes are over 2000 cc and priced upward of Rs 21 lakh each.
Industry insiders claim that though chopper bikes have been quite popular in India for several decades, almost all of it are generally replicas of popular brands made on existing bikes like Royal Enfield, with the bikes being modified as per the liking of the customer at a local garage. However, these modifications are road-illegal as per the government regulations and therefore the customers have to drive it with the risk of being apprehended by the law-enforcing officials on the road. On its part, Avantura, the first and only branded chopper manufacturing company in India, manufactures bikes from the scratch, using critical components imported from across the world.
During an interaction with DNA Money, Avantura Choppers’s CEO Gaurav Aggarwal said, “We are in talks with some investors and are looking at investments for some exciting projects lined up”. However, he refused to elaborate on the amount of funds they are expecting to raise. Going forward, the company plans to launch a new bike model every year.
The company aims to sell around 200 units by the end of FY2019, and further escalate it to over 1,000 units in the next five years, with six models in the kitty.
According to the company estimate, the 1600 cc plus bike segment is growing at 60% annually and may accelerate to over 20,000 units by the year 2020 with Avantura Choppers aiming to capture around 5-8% of it.
The industry insiders claim that though chopper bikes have been quite popular in India since several decades, almost all of it are generally replicas of popular brands made on base vehicle like old Royal Enfield. However, the customers have to drive it with the risk of being apprehended by the law enforcing officials on road since these modifications are road-illegal as per the government regulations.
When asked as how Avantura Choppers will face the competition from deep pocketed foreign ultra-luxury bike brands that offer a number of options to customers in terms of aesthetics, the trio said that these companies offer a stock bike and very limited options of accessories to go with it.
The company faces several challenges in the country, which include the perception by international players on Indian enterprises not being focused on quality and processes. Another challenge is related to availability of quality components and parts in India, forcing the company to get some critical aspects including chroming done internationally. Low category awareness and consumer understanding of the products is raising another barrier for the company.
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Avantura manufactures bikes from the scratch, using imported components
The company aims to sell around 200 units by end of FY2019
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