Garware to bring Korea's Hyosung premium bikes

After the entry of Ducati and Harley-Davidson, another premium bike brand is set to hit the Indian roads shortly. Pune-based Garware Motors, which has tied-up with Korea’s S&T Motors, has finalised plans to launch two Hyosung high-end bikes in India by April or May. The company intends to unveil two products — GT650R and ST7 — from the 2011 line-up of the Hyosung motorcycle brand.

“As we are targeting the 650cc to 750cc segment, we have to obtain the homologation certificate from ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India). We have completed almost all tests and only the engine test is on. We hope to complete this shortly and commence bookings from the last week of March,” said Diya Garware Ibanez, managing director of Garware Motors.

“The two bikes, GT650R and ST7, will be on sale from the last week of April or by the first week of May this year. While GT650R is a sports bike and will be priced in the sub-Rs 5 lakh category, ST7 will be positioned in the cruise segment and be priced below Rs 6 lakh,” she disclosed.

The company said that the 650-700c segment is an untapped one and had a huge potential. While there is an Indian brand in the 250cc segment, global brands like Harley-Davidson are in the 800 cc and above segment. “We would like to fill the gap between the two segments as it offers strong growth opportunities,” Ibanez said.

Garware Motors, a subsidiary of elastic rubber tapes maker and exporter, Garware Bestretch, will be the sole partner for assembling, marketing and selling Hyosung bikes in India. The bikes will be imported as CKD and assembled at Garware Motors’ new plant at Wai in Maharashtra. The plant will initially have a capacity to assemble 8-10 bikes a day.

The company is targeting sales of about 2,000 units in the first year and it is in the process of setting up an exclusive dealer network in major cities. It intends to have at least five to ten dealer outlets at the time of launch.

Ibanez informed that the company is setting up after-sales support infrastructure and services like spare parts stocking, engine assembly and mobile service set-up, among others.

The company will be targeting a range of mediums for gaining brand visibility. While internet will be used as a strong medium, it is also looking at biking events and displays at malls besides hoardings and regular advertising.