Honda Stylo 160 could be a scooter that can help the Jap set foot in the sporty 150cc scooter segment in India – only if it decides to launch it here..
Honda is the largest manufacturer of scooters in India and sells truckloads of them every single month. But the problem is it is not a leader despite the volume advantage it has. In the recent few years it has played extremely cautious and hasn’t created segments – that we expect it to do!
An interesting movement has started in the premium scooter space. Piaggio has been trying to sell its sportier 150-160cc scooters under the Aprilia and the Vespa brands. It was joined by Yamaha with its Aerox which has received a great response and Hero MotoCorp is also gearing up a surprise new entry – an ADV-like performance 160cc scooter – which should get launched sometime this year.
That leaves Honda and TVS among the big giants that remain to play this game. Honda may be considering venturing here – and my basis of this claim is the company’s recent patent of the new Stylo 160 in India.
What is Stylo 160?
Honda recently debuted the Stylo 160 in the Indonesian market earlier this year. It is an all new scooter that looks beautiful and the company’s focus is clearly on its styling. Another aspect worth noting is the 156.9cc single cylinder, 4-valve, engine that it gets – it is liquid cooled – just like Aerox! It churns 15.4 PS of peak power at 8500 rpm and 13.8 Nm of max torque at 7000 rpm. These are absolute Aerox ballpark numbers!
Though the scooter is new, the engine is not and is offered in company’s other products as well – like the maxi-scooter Vario 160 – that has also been patented here but couple of years ago.
So, yes while this move may hint at the possibility of the Stylo 160, or in fact, a portfolio of scooters on that platform, for India, there is no guarantee as Honda has this strategy of safeguarding its international products here, for reasons unknown to mankind! Will we get to see performance scoots from the leader? Let’s hope someone at Honda gets courageous enough…
Exclusive: Honda CB500 Patented in India; Big Hornet Coming UP…?
