People in India start getting a pinch of nostalgia, the moments we start talking about scooters (the ones with hand gear). One has to however agree to the fact that Scooters are indeed the best form of family commute especially for a country like India where a family of 3 or even 4 along with the baggage can manage to commute despite the fact that it is legally a wrong practice.
LML Vespa was for a long time one of the best sellers in the country. With the end of scooter’s regime, LML stopped the production of scooters like every other brand. Now, the Kanpur based company has visualized the future prospects of this particular segment and has launched a scooter in India – The LML Select 4. However this scooter is launched exclusively for the Delhi and the NCR territory.
The Select scooter is powered by a 148cc air cooled, single cylinder engine. The Select is capable of generating a max power of 8.8 Ps @ 6200 RPM and a max torque of 11.3 Nm at 4250 rpm. With a 5.5 litre fuel tank which is inclusive of a litre in the reserve, this scooter is equipped with a 4 speed gearbox.
P S Choudhary, Head, Sales and Marketing, LML informed Bike India that the company looks forward to open the sales of Select 4 in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by the end of June 2011. He conservatively anticipates selling around 250 – 300 units of Select4 in Delhi NCR within next 2 to 3 months.
Also, he expressed his interest in coming up with 2 more scooters and 2 more bikes in the 110 – 125 cc category. Among these 2 scooters, expect one to be a gearless scooter like an Activa or an Access, which has got a great demand in the Indian market. Similarly, out of the 2 proposed bikes, one is a 200 cc powered Sportsbike. All these two wheelers are expected to hit the market somewhere between August and December of this year.
Additionally, the company is also planning to manufacture and export light gearless scooters (50cc onwards) to Europe by the end of December. LML currently exports a 200cc lifestyle/ sports scooter to European countries besides the 125 cc and 150 cc regular geared scooters such as Star, Stella Speedy and others. “The domestic scooter market is resurging at a CAGR of 42%. We shall leverage the growth by placing exciting offerings in geared and gearless segment both. LML shall continue to explore these segments besides re – entering the motorcycle markets in India and abroad” added Mr.Choudhary.
The Select 4 comes with the option of Electric Start as well as Kick Start. The Select 4 KS which does not have the Electric Start option is priced at INR 47,140 (ex-showroom) and the Select 4 ES which is equipped with the electric start is priced at INR 50,978 (ex-showroom).
Regards,
M.Naren,
Author – BikeAdvice.in
