Honda is willing to give a tough fight to Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 and Bajaj Dominar. This becomes even more clear from the fact that they have patented the much talked Honda Rebel 300 in India.
This report is against their earlier claim of not bringing the Rebel 300 to India but things could be different if seen from another side. The patented name could be used for an all-new product, that can even share the engine with much talked CBR300R. Yes, this is the only possibility as Honda is known to keep cost under check through extensive part sharing.
Honda buyers are disappointed with their slow approach for motorcycling in India. They have recently discontinued the CBR150R and CBR250R from India as sales trend was showing downward growth from last few years. Reason? Just because they were not updating the motorcycle. International market has seen two updates on the same bike and none of them was planned for India.
Yamaha R15 is the solo performance motorcycle for this segment and new CBR150R could have given it some interesting competition. They are expected to introduce a new CBR300R at 2018 Auto Expo. If that platform goes empty, Honda India will be known for its scooters from 2018.
Rebel 300 is a potential rival to Royal Enfield bikes. They have witnessed a lot of growth as 70,000 units a month benchmark has been crossed many times by Royal Enfield. No one except Bajaj Dominar is here to have a chunk of this pie and entry of a new Honda will be totally positive for company’s future.
The hit product may not be brought the same way as expected. Remember how UM was selling two different models (Commando) under the same name in US and India? Honda could got the same way to use Rebel moniker for a watered down Indian version.
Patent Image Source: GaadiWaadi
