Honda ignores Bajaj's price war in 150cc bike segment

Unimpressed by Bajaj Auto's price war in the 150cc bike segment, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India today said it is "impossible" to launch premium segment motorcycle at a tag of Rs 46,000 -- the price at which the Pune-based bikemaker sells its latest model 'Discover 150'.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), which today launched its new 150cc bike, CB Unicorn Dazzler, at a price of Rs 62,900 (ex-showroom Delhi), said it will not join the price war started by the rival.

"It is impossible to bring out a 150cc bike at this price (like Bajaj's Discover)... To keep the entire product more stable and have better performance, it will cost more," HMSI President and CEO Shinji Aoyama told reporters here.

On Monday, Bajaj Auto had launched its new Discover 150, priced at Rs 46,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), which was cheaper by at least Rs 6,000 from the competitors.

"We have no plan to react to the price of Bajaj," he said, adding there would not be any reduction of its existing product CB Unicorn (priced Rs 59,285), which is targeted at the performance oriented commuters.

Aoyama dismissed the latest price war by Bajaj as another gimmick of introducing more powerful bike at the price of a lesser segment, which hasn't been successful.

"They (Bajaj) did it in the past also, but I don't think they have a good result from this...Like XCD 125cc, they launched it at 100cc price, XCD 135cc at 125cc price."

He said there would be a minimum cost involved in delivering a good quality premium segment bike and it could not be compromised in order to maintain the entire balance of the product.

The 150cc segment is mainly sports and performance oriented, and all the bikes are priced above Rs 50,000.

While Hero Honda's 'CBZ Xtreme' comes at a price of Rs 55,875, the Hunk is priced at Rs 55,275 and the 'Achiever' at Rs 53,925. Similarly, the TVS's 'Apache RTR' range comes with a starting price of Rs 52,000. Bajaj's 'Pulsar' 150cc is also priced at Rs 61,105.

India Yamaha's four motorcycles -- FZ16, FZS, Fazer and YZF-R15 -- in the 150cc category are priced between Rs 65,000 and Rs 98,000. Suzuki Motorcycle India's 'GS150R' comes at a price of Rs 59,602.