Tvs Suzuki Stops Making Shogun
TVS Suzuki Ltd has almost stopped production of the Shogun, the most powerful motorcycle in its portfolio. The company's dealers said that the model has not been available for quite sometime now. Company sources said production of Shogun has been stopped almost completely as there are plans to introduce a new upgraded version of the model. "Production of the new Shogun will be kick started in the next five to six months," they said.
The Shogun has an engine capacity of 110 cc and delivers 14 brake horse power (bhp). TVS Suzuki plans to increase the power of the upgraded version to 16 bhp. "There is also a possibility of increasing the engine capacity of the model to 140 cc,'' company sources said.
"The upgraded version is likely to be launched after five to six months," they added.
The absence of the Shogun is however, unlikely to have a major impact in the revenue stream or the bottomline of TVS Suzuki. This is because the sales of the model has been low in comparison to TVS Suzuki's overall sales.
During 1996-97, the Shogun accounted for only one per cent of total sales.
Though the figures for 1997-98 are not yet available, analysts estimate Shogun's share to be quite low.
This is the second time that the production of the Shogun is being stopped. The company had pulled the model out of the market a few years ago in order to fit it with a catalytic convertor to meet the new emission norms. The bike was subsequently relaunched in early 1997. However, Shogun sales have remained sluggish as the bike runs on unleaded petrol. Limited availability of unleaded petrol has restricted demand.
TVS Suzuki may not lose much during the next few months when the Shogun will not be produced. Its latest bike, the 140 cc, 12 bhp Shaolin fitted with a five-speed gear box has now been launched in most markets.
"The Shogun customer can easily be turned towards Shaolin,'' sources from the company's dealers said. In fact, dealers are trying to turn Shogun customers towards Shaolin on the mileage issue as well. While Shogun has a fuel efficiency of 20 to 25 km per litre, the Shaolin, which delivers only a little less power, has a mileage of 40 to 45 km per litre.
Industry sources feel that the launch of the Shaolin may have created a need to reposition the Shogun as a bike with more power. This may have triggered the relaunch exercise, they said.