By Muhammad Yasir
KARACHI: The prices of motorcycles are coming down owing to competition between local and Japanese brands. The Japanese made Honda has lost its top slot in the domestic market with consumers developing trust in locally assembled motorcycles of Chinese origin.
The two leading local motorcycles launched in late nineties took some years to develop buyers’ trust. Once the people buying these bikes were convinced of their efficiency and reliability along with credibility of the companies behind the brands there was no looking back.
Local brands have witnessed a steep increase in sales since 2001 with new entrants mushrooming to take advantage of a booming business. The major driving factors for local motorcycles were low prices and availability on instalments.
The local motorcycles available at Rs32,000 to Rs36,000 have caused drastic decline in the sale of Japanese Honda CD 70 and Honda CG 125. In view of tough competition Honda had slashed its prices of Honda CD 70 from Rs70,000 to Rs52,000 and Honda CG 125 from Rs81,000 to Rs71,000 in last four years.
Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki were the only available brands in motorcycles with Honda enjoying the largest market share. The monopoly of Japanese brands has collapsed with the locally manufacturers entering the market.
The sale of two stroke models of Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki have dropped to minimal levels in last two years owing to an expected ban on pollution generating vehicles. Suzuki and Yamaha are currently vying to carve out some niche for their four stroke models, that used to be the sole territory of Honda.
“Buyers do not prefer to buy Honda motorbikes instead they go for other quality brands available at lower cost,” a dealer Altaf Hussain said. With a formidable challenge posted by the local brands in terms of price to quality ratio, Honda is likely to further trim its price tags.
“Honda would further decrease the prices of CD 70 to Rs45, 000,” he foresaw. Among the leading local brands Star, Hero, Sohrab, Jialing, Geo, Super Power, Super Star, Habib, Unique, and Challenger are most popular among the masses.
The used Honda bikes that were considered a cash item have also lost their market, whereas Honda had aptly named its 70cc model as CD or cash deposit. Prices of used Honda CD 70 models between 1992-95 start from Rs25,000 whereas a new local two wheeler is available at Rs30,000.
Another reason for drop in the sale of used bikes is the facility of purchasing motorcycles on easy instalments. Apart from banks, leasing companies, and credit card services, companies offering home appliances on instalments have added motorbikes to their list and doing a roaring business.
Muhammad Shahid, President North Karachi Motorcycle Market Association (NKMMA) told The News that consumers have forgotten the Japanese motorcycles which have now, as a matter of fact changed into Chinese motorcycles as far as their machinery is concerned.
He elaborated that Japanese motorcycles were being manufactured in Pakistan with ‘made in Japan’ machinery. However, in last few years the Japanese bikes are coming with ‘made in China’ engines and gears. Therefore, the Japanese brands have lost their edge over local brands as both have Chinese machinery.
“Every brand is now China, with only one difference the quality of product,” he told The News. He said the leasing has increased the sale of new motorcycles and the customers prefer to buy local bikes instead of Japanese. He revealed that about 40 domestic and international brands of motorcycles have been registered all over the country while 12 more companies are in the process.