Suzuki Gixxer to take on Yamaha’s FZ range, targets 80 percent sales from Tier I towns

Suzuki Motorcycle India which launched its 155cc Gixxer motorcycle in New Delhi hopes to get 80 percent of its sales from tier 1 towns, Atul Gupta, executive VP, SMIPL told Autocar Professional.

Gupta said he is confident that the bike will rack up sales of 50,000 units within six months. The company has already received 1000 bookings with a majority coming from South. In September-October festive season, Suzuki hopes the Gixxer will bring in 12,000 units.

“We expect Gixxer to create a strong foothold for itself in the market. Suzuki is keen on providing youth-centric products at a very competitive price,” Gupta added. The Gixxer is being positioned at the premium end of the 155cc two-wheeler market that is worth 70,000 units per month, and is growing at 12 percent per annum.

The Gixxer carries a retail tag of Rs 72,199 (ex-showroom Delhi) and is pitted directly at Yamaha’s FZ series bikes – FZ Version 2.0 and FZ-S Version 2.0. It has been priced at around Rs 4,000 more than these rivals. The Gixxer is the second Suzuki model to be fitted with the Suzuki Eco Performance (SEP) engine technology, after the Let’s 110cc scooter. These launches form part of Suzuki’s four model rollout planned for this year.

Suzuki’s SEP technology takes on Yamaha’s Blue Core technology incorporated in its 150cc FZ series bikes. Suzuki says its technology promises 14 percent more fuel efficiency than the FZ series motorcycles.

The Gixxer which draws upon the lineage of the GSX-R1000 series was crafted by the engineers of the GSX-R series. Developed over a two-year period, it has drawn on Suzuki’s Japanese technology and has been locally tested and customised for Indian buyers.

In terms of features, the Gixxer comes with several that includes the sporty dual for higher combustion and a smartphone-resembling digital speedometer. The one cylinder four-stroke air-cooled 155cc engine is mated to a five speed gearbox with light weighting undertaken in all the parts to deliver higher engine output and torque.

“ Suzuki’s engineers developed the SEP technology by reducing all kinds of mechanical losses, with efficient design of each component and detailing of every manufacturing process. This has enabled a broad low-end torque and mid-range power for strong acceleration,” says Suresh Babu, national head- product planning.

The Gixxer comes with the carburettor instead of the fuel injection system. Babu says the fuel injection would have made the Gixxer more expensive. The carburettor will lead to the same efficiency while controlling emissions, he said. The bike has been built on the chassis of the GSX-R1000.

The Gixxer is slated for export in the next fiscal and destinations include Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Gupta says exports will constitute 10 percent of total production with 2015-16 expected to end with sales of 500,000 units of all Suzuki models put together.

With the Gixxer, SMIPL, is aiming for a market share of 10 percent supported by a wider distribution network. This will involve deeper penetration in tier I cities and expanding the network from 625 touchpoints at present to 1000 by end-March 2015.

Caption: Kenji Hirozawa - vice president, strategic planning and Atul Gupta - executive vice president, at the Gixxer launch in New Delhi.