Date:16/08/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/08/16/stories/2004081603451500.htm

Business

Crouching tiger, prancing unicorn

REGULAR READERS of this column will probably remember its prediction in "Crouching tiger, hidden dragon' (June 14, 2001) that Honda's introduction of the Activa would shake up the Indian scooter market as nothing else would. The `automatic' Activa went on to take about 29 per cent of the (75 to 125cc) market within nine months of its introduction and has now captured, along with the mechanically identical, Dio, and the conventionally geared, 150 cc Eterno, nearly 45 per cent of the entire scooter market. These quality warriors have dramatically expanded the scooter market, disproving the doomsayers' predictions of a terminal decline in favour of motorcycles. The smaller and much-improved TVS Scooty has proved their only rival while Bajaj, Kinetic and LML seem to have thrown in the towel.

Much the same appears likely to happen in the 150cc motorcycle segment with the imminent introduction of the Unicorn, Honda's attractively modern alternative to the Fiero, the Graptor and the Pulsar. Its cousin, the Hero Honda CBZ, has long been out of the race thanks to its thirst for petrol, while Bajaj will probably have to drop the Pulsar's prices substantially to keep its head above water.

The Unicorn is about as long as the CBZ (which is slightly longer than its current rivals), with a similar wheelbase, but a higher ground clearance is exceeded only by the more powerful and heavier (165 cc) entries from Kinetic. The new motorcycle will develop slightly more power than the current market leader (the Pulsar DTS-i)'s 12 bhp while being less thirsty, but its most important feature will be the monoshock rear suspension - a first for an Indian motorcycle. This feature, along with a generously proportioned seat, will lead to tremendous improvement in ride comfort (particularly for the pillion rider), but it is also expected to significantly improve handling.

All this does not mean that `Indian' companies need to throw up their hands in despair — TVS, for example, has shown what can be achieved with purposeful R&D while `zero debt' Bajaj has deep pockets, but fails miserably with regard to after-sales service.

C. Manmohan Reddy