Kawasaki Denies Local Assembly of Engines; Says Benefits Already Given to Customer BUT…

Couple of days back, there was a strong speculation of Kawasaki mulling over increased localisation of their 300 cc and 650 cc engines which power Ninja 300, Ninja 650 and others. This would have meant a direct impact on the sticker prices of these motorcycles.

However, according to a report at NDTV, a Kawasaki official has dismissed the possibility of more engine components being made in India. He cleared that the company, as of now, does not have any plans of localisation of the engine parts of either of these parallel twin motors.

He clarified,

“We are already importing these from Thailand. As it is, India enjoys a free trade agreement with Thailand, and as such, the price advantage is passed on to our customers anyway. We currently don’t have any plans of further localisation of our bikes,”

Kawasaki has launched the 2017 BS4 compliant Ninja 300 in India recently. Click pic to know price and details

It must be known that Kawasaki imports these upto-650cc bikes as CKD (completely knocked down) kits from Thailand and assembles them here in India in their plant. But the point that they pass on the price advantage to the customers is something which is hard to believe. What do they mean – had this not been the case Ninja 300 non-ABS would have costed ~4 lakhs (on the ex-showroom price)?

In fact, consider the fact that Bajaj would have taken some share in the sale of Ninja 300 earlier. But now with the partner not in the scene, there should have been a considerable price reduction on the motorcycle.

Recently introduced, 2017 Ninja 650 BS4 also received major updates. Click pic for price and details…

Just for your information, arch-rival and similar spec Yamaha R3 (non-ABS) was sold at almost Rs 40,000-45,000 lesser (on the ex-showroom Delhi price) and it is also imported as a CKD from Thailand. So, either Kawasaki is raking in huge profits and if not, then they could do with better cost management.

Nonetheless, the conclusion is – Ninja 300 (and others) are NOT going to get any cheaper in the times to come!

Next Read: Kawasaki Moving Out of Bajaj’s Factory; To Setup Its Own Plant