After Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, Kawasaki Heavy Industries has decided to set up their subsidiary in India under the name of India Kawasaki Motors. In fact, the official entry of Kawasaki has been done this Saturday.
According to the spokesperson from the company, Kawasaki will set up a unit at their Indian partner Bajaj Auto Ltds Chakan plant in Pune, Maharashtra which will cost the company an initial investment of Rs 5 crore.
Kawasaki will be helped by Bajajs expertise and know how of the Indian market and Bajajs current infrastructure at the existing plant would make things easier for this premium brand. Kawasaki launched their Ninja 250R in India in October 2009 which has witnessed great response from the crowd despite the bike being close to 3 lakh on road in the Indian market. Ninja 250R is sold through the CKD (Completely Knocked down Units) route currently and the bike is assembled at Bajajs Chakan plant in Pune. Kawasaki has a target of selling 1000 Ninjas in the Indian market for the year 2010.
At the company’s to-be-built plant in Chakan, Kawasaki will assemble and sell their bikes which will be retailed through Bajajs solid marketing and delivery chains and would be available at Bajajs Pro-Biking showrooms in prominent cities of the country. This news signifies the keen interest of foreign giants towards the Indian market. Kawasaki’s official entry in the Indian market also marks an underthought about the possible launch of bigger and better bikes from their international portfolio which includes sportsbikes, tourers, cruisers etc.
– Saad khan