Indians are spending more than Rs50 crore to buy 1,000 superbikes a year

The rich and the famous don’t wait  for long these days to hop on to their favourite mean machines — superbike makers are rushing their way.

That’s a big change from a few years ago, when there were just a couple of importers across India and a superbike was bought once in a blue moon.

So what’s a superbike? Imagine a hulk on two wheels, unleasing hundreds of horses when 1000 cc+ engines snarl, having great looks and a price-tag that sets you back by a minimum `5-10 lakh, or the price of a decent car.

Sales of such bikes are shifting into sixth gear as disposable income rises across the country.

“The market for super premium bikes in India is estimated to be around 1,000 units a year with a growth rate of about 20%,” said Sanjay Tripathi, director-marketing, Harley Davidson India.

That means Indians spend upwards of Rs50-100 crore every year on such bikes, with some of the hulks costing an eye-popping Rs35-60 lakh.

“Biking is rapidly becoming an extension of personality for the young at heart, which is fuelling the growth of leisure motorcycles. India’s growing economy and increasing number of millionaires are the main driving factors for this segment,” said Tripathi. The market is fast opening up with number of players exploring the opportunities in India.

Companies like Ducati, Harley Davidson, Suzuki, Hyosung have already established its presence in India.

While, German automaker BMW has also announced its plans to introduce its premium range of motorcycles in the Indian market by December this year, which are likely to be priced from Rs18 lakh onwards.

According to agencies, globally, BMW’s motorcycle venture is known as BMW Motorrad and it will initially sell its products at three outlets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. BMW Motorrad’s superbikes will be imported by two dealers, Deutsche Motoren and Navnit Motors.

The company is planning to bring in R1200 GS and S1000 RR models and bigger K series bikes with 4-cylinder engines.

Most of the existing players are currently importing these superbikes that attract large number of import duty, making them even more expensive.

According to Tripathi, “Harley-Davidson India currently imports completely assembled motorcycles from the US. The impact of the existing duty structure, including import tariff and local taxes, for importing CBUs is nearly 100% on US prices.”

Recently Harley Davidson announced that company’s complete knocked-down (CKD) assembling facility which will be operational in the first half of 2011.

“This investment will allow Harley-Davidson to improve our market responsiveness and production flexibility while reducing the tariff burden, which we expect will drive growth over time by making our bikes more accessible to India’s consumers. Given the strong response, we believe this is the right investment for this important market,” said Harley-Davidson president and chief operating officer, Matthew S Levatich.

Also in the race is Garware Motors, which recently forayed in the automotive segment by launching bikes in the range of 650-700 cc.

The company re-introduced the Hyosung bikes in the high end category. Besides this, Garware Motors with the help of Korean company — S&T Motors is in the process of setting up an assembly plant at Wai in Maharashtra with a capacity to manufacture 8-10 bikes a day.

The market for superbikes is fast spreading across the country. Ducati, which currently has only one showroom in Mumbai, India is planning to open three more showrooms soon. Mumbai and Delhi are one of the big markets for these bikes with Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh rapidly catching up.

But the culture for big bikes is rapidly spreading in other cities also, which might be the tier II cities. The company is assessing the possibility of expanding its dealership network to cities like Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kochi next year.