If a recent report from Money Control is to be believed, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has completely stopped CBR150R and CBR250R production in India. It was being speculated that BS4 versions would be coming soon but as per the latest details available, Honda has no plans to relaunch the CBR150R & CBR250R in India anytime soon.
According to a company spokesperson Honda will definitely make a comeback in this segment but the timeline and products have not been finalized yet. Honda stopped selling CBR150R and CBR250R in India in April this year due to the implementation of BS4 emission norms.
The move is very disappointing for many Honda fans as they were expecting the next generation CBR150R and CBR250R to be brought into the country. Not just that, many even believed that CBR300R could be the next big thing for the Indian market.
Honda CBR250R was once the best Indian sports bike as it was an upgrade over Yamaha’s powerful R15. The CBR duo sold around 5466 units in FY17 while 8655 units were sold in FY16. This clearly shows the loss of interest that fans had for CBR250R and CBR150R.
The design language of CBR250R stays the same from 2011, making it one of the Indian machines to keep the same design for so long. CBR150R comes with minimalistic changes over the 250R. The same time saw a drastic change in international spec CBR250R and CBR150R.
Both were given a new, twin headlight design for even better approach. It started showing its CBR blood clearly as the Indian design is more in line with VFR series. The international CBR150R even went one step forward and gained one more generation in design and engine during the same period. It now comes with LED lights, better engine and CBR400R inspired design.
Honda CBR150R and CBR250R were sold with massive discounts on the last two days of March 2017. Some dealers were even offering a free Honda Navi with top spec CBR250R. The same is even one of the most affordable motorcycle to feature twin channel ABS in India.
After the discontinuation of these two bikes, Honda CB Hornet 160R is the new flagship machine in the company lineup. It can be bought well under INR 1 lakh (on-road Delhi) and offers dual disc brakes as an option.