The Indian two-wheeler subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. will more than double its production capacity by 2012 and also plans to introduce three more models as it aims to tap rising demand in Asia's third-largest auto market.
Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. will invest 500 million rupees ($11 million) until 2012 to raise annual production to 540,000 units from the current 250,000, Katsumi Takata, the company's chairman, said at a press conference Wednesday.
The company--which introduced its new 125 cubic centimeter SlingShot motorcycle Wednesday--plans to introduce a new scooter model and two more motorcycles between now and the end of next year to drive demand for its products.
"The new launches will include an entry-level motorcycle with a 100 cubic centimeter engine," Atul Gupta, vice president for sales and marketing, told reporters.
The entry-level, or 100cc motorcycle segment, accounts for the bulk of sales in the Indian two-wheeler market, with Hero Honda Motors Ltd. commanding a more than 60% market share.
Suzuki Motorcycle will sell the SlingShot for 43,945 rupees at showrooms in Delhi.
The company also sells the GS150R motorcycle model and the Access 125 scooter model in India, which it assembles locally. It also imports and sells super bikes GSX-R1000, Bandit1250S, Hayabusa 1300 and Intruder M1800R.
Parent Suzuki Motor has so far invested 4.50 billion rupees in its India motorcycle subsidiary to construct a factory with an annual capacity of 250,000 units. The factory is located at Gurgaon in the northern state of Haryana.
According to its website, the factory covers 6.5 acres of the total 37 acres of land that the company owns. Suzuki Motorcycle India will use the remaining land for development and future expansion.
The company aims to fully utilize its installed capacity in the current fiscal year that began April 1. "We might be able to stretch it to make and sell 270,000 to 280,000 units this year," Gupta said.
It also plans to increase dealerships to 400 from the current 226 by the end of 2012.
Motorcycle sales in India in July rose 30% from a year earlier to 710,621 units and scooter sales jumped 36% to 167,195 units, according to the latest monthly data issued by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
