UM-Lohia JV to launch sub-500cc cruiser in 2016

Renegade series of bikes will be in the 300cc - 500cc category

UM-Lohia (UML), a 50:50 joint venture between US-based motorcycle brand UM and Indian electric two and three-wheeler maker Lohia Auto Industries, is gearing up to launch its first cruiser in India during the Auto Expo scheduled to be held in New Delhi in February 2016, according to Lohia Auto chief executive officer Ayush Lohia.

"The cruiser from UM's Renegade series of bikes, which will be in the 300cc - 500cc category, is currently in the testing and evaluation stage," he told Business Standard.

UM and Lohia Auto had in September 2014 entered into a definitive agreement to jointly manufacture and market the former's mid-size super bikes in India. The JV firm has earmarked around Rs 100 crore for the purpose, and the Renegade series of bikes will be manufactured at Lohia Auto's production facility at Kashipur in Uttarakhand.

Announcing Lohia Auto's entry into the south Indian market on Friday, Ayush Lohia said the company was planning to open 50 dealerships, with a target to sell 1,000 electric two and three-wheelers and diesel three-wheelers across the five southern states by the end of this financial year.

Noida-based Lohia Auto currently has an installed capacity of 100,000 e-scooters, and 40,000 e-rickshaws and diesel three-wheelers per year at its Kashipur facility.

"At present, the capacity utilisation is only 15 per cent. We will look at either expanding the current capacities or setting up a new facility once we reach optimum capacity utilisation at Kashipur in the next two to three years," Lohia said, while not ruling out the possibility of setting up a production unit down south.