Of late, scooters have taken over the two-wheeler market by offering a large number of options to buyers. The sales of scooters have shown a consistent growth of around 25 per cent year-on-year -- a figure that is much higher than that of motorcycles. The rising market share of scooters can be attributed to the versatility and convenience they offer. While motorcycles are usually considered to cater to a male customer base, anyone can ride scooters regardless of gender, which is one of the biggest advantages they offer.
The result is that every major two-wheeler manufacturer in the country (barring Bajaj Auto) now wants a piece of the massive sales pie that scooters make up. To that effect, they have also started marketing scooters specific to their customer base. We have scooters like the TVS Scooty, Yamaha Ray and Hero Pleasure focusing on the fairer sex whereas the Yamaha Ray ZR and Honda Dio are targeted towards men. And then there is the Honda Activa, TVS Jupiter and Hero Duet marketed as unisex scooters. So, while there is a scooter for everyone, there still isn’t a single one that you would aspire for or has a cult following like, say, Royal Enfield among bikes.
Walk into any two-wheeler showroom and you’ll struggle to find a scooter that would tug at your heart. The Vespa does come close on the aspirational front, and although it’s stunning to look at, it loses out on the performance department. The newly launched Aprilia SR150 has got pricing and performance right but its puny dimensions are more suited to the young blood restricting its audience further.
What the Indian scooter segment really needs now is an adequately powerful and well-built scooter that is fun to ride to work as well as on weekend getaways. I am not asking for those 300cc or 500cc displacement maxi scooters that are available in Europe. Instead, bring on a performance scooter with a punchy 150cc motor housed in a maxi scooter body with good under seat space. Throw in some quality cycle parts like telescopic front forks, alloy wheels, disc brakes, large dia wheels, etc, and voila, you’ve got the recipe for the perfect scooter! Above all, make sure it’s within everyone’s reach by pricing it below Rs 1 lakh. Sure, a scooter with a sticker price upward of Rs 80,000 will still raise many eyebrows but with higher purchasing power and varying consumer needs, there is a market for such products albeit in small volumes.
The Kinetic Blaze launched a decade ago was one such product that had caught the imagination of Indian performance scooter buyers. This 165cc scooter had the visual oomph and performance making it a brilliant offering. Yet, the Blaze couldn’t succeed as it was way ahead of its time and the consumers weren’t quite ready for such a product. But things have changed in the recent past with performance getting preference over fuel economy, at least, among the new breed of buyers.
From the list of upcoming scooters expected to be launched in India, the Hero ZIR which was showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo seems to be a candidate that fits the aspirational scooter billing. Its styling is similar to European maxi scooters with a tall windscreen and large comfortable seats. Powering the scooter is a liquid-cooled 157cc motor churning out 14PS of power and 12.7Nm of torque. If Hero manages to price the scooter under 1 lakh rupees, then they’ll have a very strong product in their hand. Another interesting product that managed to grab a few eyeballs at the 2016 Auto Expo in Delhi and that might land on our shores is the Yamaha NMax.
Ironic as it may sound, the biggest hurdle for performance scooters in India are, well, manufacturers themselves. Unwilling to experiment or take risks, they have been too caught up in the rut of producing low cost, easy to use 110cc and 125cc scooters. While these bread and butter offerings will continue to rack up the required sales numbers for manufacturers, they won’t do much to uplift their brand image. The current scenario is similar to early 2000 when the Bajaj Pulsar debuted and changed the biking scene in the country by providing performance and features at an affordable price point. It’s time for manufacturers do the same in the scooter segment and introduce a product that will make hearts flutter and possibly be a game changer. Until then, the wait for the aspirational scooter continues...
Source: ZigWheels.com
