With the Indian bikers getting more and more aware, the two wheeler market is opening up to performance oriented machines. There are lots of new motorcycles in the 200 and above segment and these are turning out to be the hot sellers among both youngsters and motorcycle enthusiasts of all ages and sizes. The quarter-litre class bikes have seen significantly large sales figures in the last six months and with the new KTM 200 coming out, the competition is just going to get more exciting and better. Now we hear that Hyosung is bringing out its 250cc bikes. Going by international public opinion, the other bikes in the 200-250cc domains are relatively underpowered or lack the thrill factor (barring the green devil Ninja 250).Also, Hyosung is providing some bonus features that out match most of the bikes in this segment.

The Korean bike manufacturer is almost ready to launch the new GT 250R. It is said that the GT 250R is the first modern 250 sport bike in twenty years. Hyosung has an innovative dual lateral bar frame for keeping the weight in check and to maintain a low centre of gravity. The 250R shares a majority of styling features with its elder brother – the GT 650R. The bike features a 2 stage projection beam (did I hear someone say Pulsar 220?) for greater visibility and VFD(Vacuum Fluorescent Display). We have recently mentioned that we will be doing a Hyosung GT 650 R review soon and we hope we get more information on the 250 too.

Hyosung also plans to launch the naked variant as the GT 250 N which will be similar to the GT 650N within two months of the faired version’s launch. The SRT 7 will also have a smaller brother as the third quarter litre bike to come from the manufacturer will be the GV 250 cruiser. Sporting a V-Twin, 8 valve, fuel injected motor, the bike should be an instant hit if the manufacturer prices it right. Safely expect all the attributes of the elder brothers too be present in the respective siblings.

posted on behalf of bike aficionado Tapan Jadhav, Pune

On behalf of entire team, I wish all our visitors a bright and happy new year! I started posting here only recently and motoroids.com already feels like a second home. The year 2011 saw us here at motoroids getting excited over many new car launches and new variants. More than anything else, we felt really proud when we posted about the first Indian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Now, we are readying ourselves for the new year and hope to get better and closer to our readers. And we do have a surprise coming your way in a few days! Also, safely expect us to bring the upcoming Delhi Auto Expo closer to you all.

Once again, wishing a really awesome new year to you and the ones you love and care about.Drive/Ride safe and take care!

Toyota announced that the firm would provide employment to over 1,500 people in India by 2013, with intentions to expand its operations and boost its sales in the country. In a joint venture with Kirloskar Group in India, Toyota has invested over Rs 1,650 crores in order to boost their production capacity by 1 lakh units by the year 2014.

“The company is in the process of employing about 1500 employees during the coming year to reach this goal,” said Mr. Shekar Viswanathan, Deputy Managing Director – Commercial of Toyota Kirloskar Motors. He mentioned that the firm is going to employ people on contract basis too, apart from the permanent workers in order to boost production.

The company plans to boost its Bangalore facility’s production capacity from 1.5 lakh units to 2.1 lakh units by the end of next year.

A while earlier, we had reported that Maruti Suzuki had suspended bookings for the new Swift owing to the Manesar plant unrest. The company has now taken a step to bring back the bookings for the car by shifting the production of the new Swift from the Manesar plant to its facility in Gurgaon. Due to the labor unrest at Manesar, the car came attached with a waiting period of as long as 8 months which forced dealers across the country to suspend the bookings for the car.

As another step to continue production, the firm has hired additional temporary workers to speed up the production at Manesar where about 250 cars were manufactured yesterday. There is no clue as to when the strike at Manesar, which is currently at its 11^th day, would end.

A spokesperson for the firm said, “The Company has taken this decision to deliver Swift cars as soon as possible to customers who have booked them and are waiting for the delivery. As the company is working with less manpower at the Manesar plant these days, the decision to make the Swift both at Manesar and Gurgaon will help the company to raise overall volume.”

Ducati Factory MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden seems to have special privileges like that of getting early looks at new un-revealed models as shown in the above picture. The picture proves that Hayden got a glimpse of the new Ducati 848 Streetfighter at the factory earlier this week.

The 2012 848 Streetfighter has borrowed quite a lot of designing cues from the bigger 1098 Streefighter and the 748/848 sports bike series. The motorcycle’s rolling chassis heavily resembles that of its elder sibling. However, the bike is reported to have basic brakes, suspension and other parts in order to keep it in budget. But for those who do not have a budget constraint, the bike may be available in an ‘S’ variant which will feature higher spec parts. The engine however seems to be unchanged and borrowed from the 848 supersports machine. However, it could feature improved fueling and gears.

The motorcycle is scheduled to be officially revealed at the Milan Show in November. Not all of us are as lucky as Mr Hayden, so it looks like we’ll have to wait till November to get a glimpse of the motorcycle for ourselves.

HMSI already owns a big piece of the cake with its motorcycles and scooters like the Unicorn, Activa, Shine and many more. The firm managed to sell 16.58 lakh units in 2010-11 and has plans to touch the 21 lakh mark this year.

The bikemaker now plans to launch a mass market 100cc. The new 100cc motorcycle, to be priced at around Rs 45,000 will be launched in 2012. “Our target in the next decade is to be No.1 in India. For the first time, we will introduce a mass segment motorcycle in the 100cc category…it is the first priority for us,” said HMSI President and CEO Shinji Aoyama.  “We have not been entering the mass segment because of existence of Hero Honda (its erstwhile joint venture partner). But now for a while, we will concentrate on introducing mass models. We will introduce the 100cc bike in next year…it is currently under development,” he added.

HMSI’s marketing and sales VP, NK Rattan has recently confirmed the plan by saying that HMSI will showcase the new 100-cc bike at the Auto Expo in January and launch it next fiscal. The firm plans to launch a new 100cc motorcycle which would cost about Rs 45,000 later in 2012. HMSI VP-Sales and Marketing said, “We will showcase a 100-cc bike at the Auto Expo in January and launch it next fiscal.” He also revealed that the firm plans to launch a new scooter by the end of this year. The new scooter would be 100 percent localized while its product development would take place from Japan.

With 1,220 outlets across the country, HMSI plans to improve its dealership network by adding another 300 outlets by the next fiscal year, along with the launch of new products.

Will the HMSI 100cc eat up the share of what once Hero Honda or today’s Hero MotoCorp has? Let’s wait and watch.

Source: Business Line

Piaggio had started importing limited volumes of its Aprilia range in India earlier in 2011. Now the Italian automaker has plans to go ‘BIG’ with the launch of its Vespa scooter brand early next year. The company is considering expanding its two-wheeler business in India by bringing in other brands such as Derbi, Gilera and Moto Guzzi. In all, the firm owns seven brands of scooters, motorcycles and small commercial vehicles.

Ravi Chopra, CMD of Piaggio Vehicles India commented that the Italian company views India as an “opportunity” and that they intend to have a bigger share in the market. “We are carrying out a detailed feasibility study of the Indian motorcycle market to explore its potential and understand how we should enter, if we decide to do so,” said Mr Chopra.

The company is setting up a manufacturing facility for two wheelers at Baramati in Maharashtra. The manufacturing plant worth 30 million Euros will have an initial capacity of 1.5 lakh units. The company plans to double the capacity by mid 2013.

Piaggio Vespa LX125

The company manages to sell about 1,000 units annually in India which is expected to climb a slope. However, we should keep in mind that now is the time that other two-wheeler giants like Yamaha, Honda, Ducati and Suzuki are also getting their superbikes to India.

“The feasibility study will take a couple of months. If we go ahead, investments will not be a constraint,” said Mr Chopra indicating that the Indian motorcycle market is a big opportunity for any company even with the highly competitive nature. Mr Chopra said with high confidence that the Vespa brand has the capacity to slice into the market share of the scooter segment which is currently ruled by Honda, TVS and Hero MotoCorp. The company plans to bring a wider range of scooters in India after the launch of the 125cc Vespa LX125 in 2012.

Source: TOI

It seems to be in German blood that when one auto manufacturer launches a particular vehicle, the other competitors have to launch a vehicle to compete with that vehicle. German or not, It’s human nature. These lines will get a bit clearer when I remind you of BMW’s i-brand cars. The i-brand cars are eco-friendly products or electric cars. The i3 and i8 are two of the i-brand cars launched by BMW. BMW has targeted this car for the masses, especially for those who pool their cars which is very popular in Germany. However, Audi has plans to shatter BMW’s expectations.

Audi has announced the A2 which will be revealed soon at the Frankfurt show later this month. The A2 will compete with BMW’s i3. The A2 is an electric hatchback like the BMW i3. The fuel for the A2 comes from a pack of lithium ion batteries that power an electric motor capable of generating 85 kW of power and 199 lb-ft of torque. With this configuration, the car can sprint from a standstill to 100 kmph in as less as 9 seconds and can accelerate further to a top whack of 150 kmph. The battery takes approximately 4 hours to charge completely when plugged to a 240 volt socket.

 The four-door, four-seat A2 concept is constructed using aluminum and carbon fiber which are the perfect ingredients to keep the weight of the car minimal. The car is big enough to fit in a small family comfortably.

Tata Motors seems to be getting into deeper trouble after another Tata Nano burst into flames, now in Sri Lanka. The car was being used as a taxi by a cab company in Sri Lanka by the name Budget Taxi. Tata Motors had just started exporting Nanos to Sri Lanka in May, 2011. In just 4 months, the flames have debuted in Sri Lanka too.

Just a while ago, we reported a Tata Nano that caught fire at Anand, Gujarat. these flames have not only been burning the car but also its reputation thus, pushing the sales downwards. It is a fact that Tata Motors had concluded its investigations in the previous fires and commented that the flames weren’t due to any engineering faults. However, due to the repeated mishaps in regular intervals, there seems to be something fishy and Tata Motors owes and explanation for the same.

The recent alarming infernos have put up a huge question mark on the safety of the car.

India’s only fully electric car offering comes in the form of the Reva. The little car that can fit two adults and some shopping bags has been around for quite sometime, however due to its high price it has not penetrated the market in the manner that most thought it would. This car is capable of running around for 80 kilometers on a single charge, the Reva is a green answer to city mobility. Easy to park, cheap to run, however expensive to purchase, the Reva has made its mark on the Indian automotive scene.

 ”In the next 18 months, we will launch an M&M product with electric vehicle technology in India,” Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicle Chief of Technology and Strategy Chetan Maini told reporters on the sidelines of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ (SIAM) annual summit here.

“The company has already fitted the technology in M&M’s vehicles and it is currently being tested”, he added. Maini, however, declined to name the Mahindra vehicle in which the electric technology will be introduced for commercial sale. M&M had earlier announced plans to roll out its flagship sports utility vehicle, ‘Scorpio’, with an electric fuel option and gradually introduce it in other models as well.

In 2010, M&M had acquired majority stake in Reva. When asked about Reva’s dealership network, Maini said: “We will gradually introduce a Reva electric car in all Mahindra outlets. Our plan is to have 50 outlets by end of this year and go up to 100 showrooms by the end of next year.” and the company is currently expanding its production capacity from 3,000 units to 30,000 units with the opening of a second production facility in Bangalore.