High-end bikes sale defies market slump

KATHMANDU, Aug 17: Though overall two-wheelers´ sale experienced double-digit slump in the fiscal year 2010/11, high-end bikes that cost in range of half a million rupees and above did not experience much difference in enquiries and sales in comparison to the year before.



Officials of Ganesh Enterprises, the authorized distributor of Suzuki - a major player in high-end bike segment, said market response for high-end bikes was not as discouraging as the lower-end bikes.[break]



“We sold 24 units of Suzuki DR 200 that costs Rs 599,880 in the last fiscal year alone. Sales of other models too were not below our expectations,” said Pramila Khatri, sales manager of Ganesh Enterprises.



Ganesh Enterprises is currently selling eight high-end models of Suzuki.



Almost all the dealers that sell high-end bikes agree that there is a slow but constant demand of these bikes in the market. Syakar Company, the authorized distributor of Honda for Nepal, current deals with five high-end models -- XR Bros 150, XR 250, Hornet, CBR 600 RR and CB 1000 R that cost Rs 524,000, Rs 625,000, Rs 1.65 million, Rs 2.05 million and Rs 2.2 million respectively.



“We sell about 150 units of XR models every year and five to six units of other models put together,” said Saurabh Jyoti, managing director of Jyoti Group - the parent company of Syakar Company.







Dugar Brothers and Sons -- the authorized distributor of Royal Enfield for Nepal - also sold more than 50 units of Enfield Classic 500 that costs Rs 495,000 in the last fiscal year. “We were out of stock at the end of the last fiscal year. But we´ve ordered more bikes and have already received booking for 25 units of Enfield Classic 500,” said Rabin Bhandari, sales executive at Dugar Brothers and Sons.



Similarly, Hansraj Hulaschand -- the authorized distributor of Kawasaki Ninja for Nepal -- sold 17 units of Ninja 250 R in the last fiscal year. “We were expecting to sell about 12 units only. As the response was better than expected, we are also planning to introduce Ninja 650 in the market soon,” said Ashish Sharma, showroom manager of Hansraj Hulaschand.







Sales of high-end bikes have not declined despite 80 percent tax and long-running economic gloom. Dealers do not expect the sales to decline anytime soon.

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