Kawasaki India launches Z1000, Ninja 1000 at Rs 12.5 lakh

Company says another model coming to India next month, and claims it will dominate segment

India Kawasaki Motors (IKM) today launched two motorcycles in India, Z1000 naked bike and Ninja 1000 at Rs 12.5 lakh ex-showroom Pune and Delhi.

Both the bikes are imported in as direct imports, Completely Built Units or CBU models from Japan. Both the models will initially be available in Pune and a new Kawasaki dealership in Delhi.

Speaking on this occasion, Yuji Horiuchi, managing director, India Kawasaki Motors said, "There is a substantial growth in 500 cc segment. Focus in India are the high-performance bikes and currently we do not have any plan of launching an entry-segment type bike. Our estimation of market size of these bikes is of 2500  units every year. We are targeting 20 per cent market share of this category. Along with Ninja, Z-series is also important for us. Our initial target for sales is 100 units per model per year. We will expand our business territory in a phase-wise manner."

Kawasaki says that another model is coming to India next month, and claims that it will dominate the segment.

He added, “We had recently launched two of our flagship models and received impressive response for these products. To further strengthen our presence in the country, we are now launching two more global products targeted at specific audiences. We are also launching our first exclusive showroom in North India, to strategically expand our national footprint. With incessant support from our long-standing partners, Bajaj Auto, we look forward to taking the Kawasaki brand in India from strength to strength.”

Globally, the company has sold 450,000 units.

It is relatively active in the markets like Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Brazil. From India, Kawasaki has exported spare parts valued of Rs 25 crore.

It has a target to to earn Rs 60 crore from the exports to the countries like Japan, Indonesia and Thailand. In total, company exports 30-items from India to these markets.

The company expects to sell 1,000 bikes by the end of 2013, and plans to open on an average two showrooms a year.