Honda to exit geared scooter segment in India

Japanese two-wheeler major Honda on Friday said it will exit the geared scooter market in India and phase out its 150 cc model-- Eterno-- as the company plans to
focus on the gearless segment.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), the fully owned Indian subsidiary of the Japanese firm, today launched a new version of its gearless scooter Activa, priced at Rs 39,800 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

"We will stop producing Eterno. We will not stay in this segment (geared scooter). Eterno will be phased out," HMSI president and CEO Shinji Aoyama told reporters here. 

The company would focus on gearless scooters in the future and with the launch of the new Activa, HMSI is looking at a total of 18 per cent growth in its two wheeler sales in
the next fiscal, 2009-10.

Eterno was selling only about 40,000 units a year, which was very small, Aoyama said.  Asked if the company would bring in a new model to fill the vacuum after withdrawal of Eterno from the market, Aoyama said: "We will surely compensate with a substitute, but at the moment the new Activa is enough to take the challenge as it will give 15 per cent increased mileage."

Besides, HMSI is expecting to record 17 per cent growth in the current financial year with a total sales of 10.6 lakh units.