Suzuki Eyes Market Leadership In Two-Wheelers By 2027
Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), Japan and the sister entity of Maruti Suzuki, is eyeing the top spot in the two-wheeler market by 2027. Already a market leader in the passenger vehicle segment with a 50% market share, the company’s presence in the scooter and motorbike segments is minuscule at 5%. It is pertinent to note that both Hero MotoCorp and Honda command around 70% marketshare of the entire two-wheeler spectrum.
Talking to BW Businessworld, Satoshi Uchida, Managing Director, stated, “Last fiscal we sold 3.5 lakh units and we have already reached the mark in the first seven months of FY 2017-18. We will be rolling out one to two products every year in India. We are planning to double our market share and sell more than 1 million units by FY 2019-20. In the next 10 years, we aspire to be the market leader in the two-wheeler space. The biggest contributor to our volumes will be the booming scooter market and we are training our guns for that. Already our biggest volumes generator worldwide, India can also become the largest market in terms of revenues.”
SMIPL, which had logged Rs. 3,000 crore during last financial year, is also aiming to double its turnover by FY 2019-20.
When asked about the CapEx plans, Uchida affirmed, “We will be setting up our second plant that could entail a minimum investment of Rs 500 crore. Volumes wise, view, South India is our biggest market. But in terms of logistics, having two plants next to each other in Haryana is desirable. We will also be setting up an in-house R&D centre once we cross the 1 million mark by 2020.”
It is to be mentioned that Suzuki’s existing two-wheeler plant, located in Gurgaon, Haryana, has an annual capacity of 5,40,000 units and 4 assembly lines which can churn out up to 1 million units per annum with some additional investments within the existing assembly lines. “We will end up producing 6 lakh units by the end of this fiscal. We are operating in two shifts and if required we might go for a third shift if there is a necessity,” revealed Uchida.
Uchida was speaking on the sidelines of launching its new 155cc cruiser model Intruder priced at Rs. 98,340 (ex-showroom Delhi). Powered by a 154.9cc 4-stroke, 1-cylinder, air-cooled engine which churns out 10.4kW of maximum output at 8000rpm and 14Nm of peak torque at 6000rpm, it delivers a mileage of 44km/L.
Meanwhile, SMIPL will exit from commuter segment motorcycle by phasing out the Hayate by 2020 when the BS-IV emission norms come into force.
Sajeev Rajasekharan, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, SMIPL told reporters,
" Going forward we will be focusing only on 150cc plus motorcycles and scooters segments. Upgrading our commuter bikes to meet BS-VI norms will make them economically not feasible. We will continue to produce Hayate for exports and for select pockets in north India, where demand for such bikes is decent.”
