Honda bets on Unicorn Dazzler to push sales in East

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Limited (HMSI), the 100 per cent two-wheeler subsidiary of the Japan-based Honda Motor Company, expects Honda Unicorn Dazzler, its latest 150-cc bike to be its next big sales driver in the eastern region.

HMSI has targeted to sell around 500 units of the newly launched bike every month in the eastern region.

Anil Kumar Vaish, regional manager (sales and marketing) of HMSI's eastern region, said, “We are targeting to sell around 500 units of Unicorn Dazzler per month in the eastern region. The new bike will definitely boost our overall sales in the region. Presently, we are selling 10,000 units every month in the eastern region which comprises 3,500 units of gearless scooter models and 6,500 units of bikes.”

Out of around 10,000 units sold across the eastern region, about 4200 units are sold in Orissa.

HMSI sold nearly 12.7 lakh units of two-wheelers across all its models in 2009 and aims to reach a sales volume of 15 lakh this year. The two-wheeler firm is set to launch an all-new 1200 cc bike in the India market which is expected to push sales.

HMSI is a fringe player in terms of bike sales and has a pan-India market share of only six per cent. However, it is the undisputed market leader in the gearless scooter segment with a share of more than 50 per cent. The company's overall market share in the two-wheeler industry of the country stands at 13 per cent.

To cater to the rising demand of its customers, HMSI has kicked off work on its all new manufacturing facility at Tapukura in Rajasthan's Alwar district. This facility which will have an annual production capacity of six lakh units, will be operational in the middle of 2011.

Meanwhile, its existing plant at Manesar in Gurgaon district is running at full capacity.

Unicorn Dazzler, the upgraded version of the earlier Unicorn model will deliver a mileage of 60 km per litre. This bike is equipped with maintenance free battery and viscous air filter for more convenience. It is priced at Rs 65,480 (ex showroom-Bhubaneswar).