JOIN USUM Motorcycles to launch ' Renegade Classic' in Sept
Miami-based UM International that embarked on a novel ‘Make in India’ push, plans to launch its third bike — Renegade Classic — by the end of September, in the niche 300-500 cc motorcycle space in the country.
Early this year, UM Motorcycles had rolled out two bikes — Renegade Commando (Rs 1.59 lakh) and Renegade Sport S (Rs 1.49 lakh — all prices ex-showroom Delhi), specially designed and developed for customers here.
Talking to Deccan Herald, UM India and AMEA (Asia, Middle East, and Africa) Director Rajeev Mishra said, “Next year, we’ll launch probably another three bikes... we would have six bikes in 300-500 cc, by the end of 2017,” hinting at foraying into newer categories like sports bikes with higher engine capacities, in the mean time.
As part of the company’s targeted market share, Mishra said, “As part of our long-term roadmap, we will start with a 5% market share, and go up to 15% in the 300-500 cc market, in the next three years.” The 300-500 cc market size is to the tune of 5 lakh units, growing at around 37-38%, and expected to touch 6.5 lakh units, next year.
A large contribution towards making UM’s products affordable is derived from the company’s localisation initiative. While UM India does source certain components from China, Thailand, and the US, over 60% of its manufacturing is localised, with aims to have 80% localisation by this year-end.
“Since 2014, we have been working on locally designing and developing a new bike for India. We established an R&D centre in Delhi, and set up UM India — a 100% subsidiary of UM International — which has been involved in creating these bikes for this market. In 2015-end, we signed a 50:50 joint venture with Lohia Auto (UM Motorcycles) for manufacturing our bikes. The plant at Kashipur, Uttarakhand, will manufacture the company’s products.”
The company has also announced plans to make India an export hub for its bikes. Said Mishra, “We plan to sell the Renegade series in those markets where 300 cc machines have demand, such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan. We will begin exports by the end of September or October.”