Hero Honda Launches 100cc Street

Hero Honda Motors Ltd launched the 100cc step-through two-wheeler motorcycle called Street yesterday in Mumbai and New Delhi.

Street is popular in the south Asian markets and is being offered in three versions in India: deluxe (with self-start)), standard and business. It has sold more than 25 million units worldwide.

The launch comes close on the heels of Kinetic Engineerings launch of a similar step-through motorcycle called K-4, earlier this month K-4 is priced lower than Street.

We are happy to bring the worlds largest-selling and most successful motorcycle to India, said Brijmohan Lall Munjal, chairman and managing director, Hero Honda.

 

Full-scale production is scheduled to commence today.

The motorcycle sports a 100cc engine designed on the lines of Hondas CD 100 4-stroke engine. It will be positioned as a family vehicle easy for women to ride.

Both models of Kinetic Engineering and Hero Honda could face stiff price competition from Bajaj Autos M-80. However, with Kinetic Engineering and Hero Honda offering more vehicle power compared to the M-80, pricing will determine who wins this battle.

Kinetic Engineering is offering its K-4 at three-fourth the price of `Street.

Hero Honda however claims its vehicle is much superior and proven in other countries.

The company has plans to double total motorcycle production capacity at its two plants in Daruhera and Gurgaon to 300,000 vehicles per annum each by 2001.

Hero Honda will be manufacturing three products at Gurgaon (where it is investing Rs 180 crore) under a 10-year technical agreement with Honda which expires in 2004.

The Gurgaon factory is slated to go up to a maximum annual production of 600,000 bikes by that period, said a company executive.

It is also in talks with Honda to introduce a higher capacity motorcycle.

The vehicle is expected to be in the 150cc range and is to be developed on the platform of the Brazilian model.

Hero Honda is paying the Japanese company a royalty of 4% of sales for the first seven years for Street.

It is also paying a lumpsum of Rs 200 per bike as royalty to Honda for the CD series manufactured at the Daruhera plant.