Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has filed patents in our market for the ADV350 and Vario 160 scooters. Both scooters are already available in overseas markets, and Honda may explore bringing them here. We have known Honda for filing many patents in order to protect its products in the future, as it did with the Scoopy scooter, the Grom mini bike, the NT 1100 touring motorcycle, and, most recently, the U-go electric scooter, so they might have filed the latest patents for a similar reason.
Honda ADV350 is a maxi-scooter designed for off-road use, debuted at EICMA 2021 and has since gone on sale in other countries such as the United Kingdom. A 330cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine with 29 hp and 31.5 Nm powers the ADV350. The gear on the maxi-scooter includes USD forks up front, dual shock absorbers at the rear, a 15-inch front wheel, a 14-inch rear wheel, and front and rear disc brakes with dual-channel ABS.
Honda has priced the ADV350 at £5,699 (about Rs 5.50 lakh) in the United Kingdom. Given the unexpected popularity of the expensive BMW C400 GT (Rs 10.40 lakh, ex-showroom) maxi-scooter in India, Honda may opt to launch the ADV350 here.
The Honda Vario 160 may be more appropriate for our market of these two scooters. If the Vario 160 comes to India, then it would compete with premium scooters such as the popular Yamaha Aerox 155 and the Aprilia SXR 160. A 156.9cc engine powers the Vario 160, generating 15.4 hp and 13.8 Nm, which are comparable to the Aerox 155’s performance.
However, if Honda wants to sell the Vario 160 competitively with the Aerox 155, then they need to make it domestically, as Yamaha did with the Aerox. The Vario 160 is presently available in Indonesia, where costs begin at IDR 26,339,000 (around Rs 1.41 lakh).
