New Honda CBR150R is undoubtedly a quality benchmark for the lightweight segment. You can hear people telling tales about their long drives on the old-gen model, returning even more energized than they were at the start and the new one is simply a level higher than all that has been heard for the Indian version.
The factor that pulled it back was the use of old VFR inspired design, and only Honda knows why the brand preferred halting the production and not bringing in the next generation model of CBR150R to India. Here are five reasons why the New Honda CBR150R should be launched in India.
5 Reasons Why New Honda CBR150R Should be Launched in India
1) Impressive & Next-Gen Design: The design language of the new bike is far more impressive than the old generation CBR150R. It now uses LED lights, sharp front fascia and a very competitive design in the 150cc segment. Chances of launching the 2019 CBR250R under the same design is also a possibility.
2) Better Performance & Features: The drive quality on the next generation model has been improved by using a better fairing. New Honda CBR150R even offers a better balance in power and torque while the use of LED lights and better brakes makes it even better than before. The interest of buyers for the old CBR150R fell largely due to better bikes being introduced in the same segment that even carries better technology in comparison to the discontinued CBR.
New Honda CBR150R Specs
- Displacement – 149.16 cc
- Maximum Power – 17.1 HP @ 9000 rpm
- Maximum Torque – 14.4 NM @ 7000 rpm
- Number of Cylinders – 1
- Number of Gears – 6
- Seat Height – 787 mm
- Ground Clearance – 166 mm
- Kerb/Wet Weight – 135 kg
- Fuel Tank Capacity – 12 litres
- Top Speed – 135 kmph (Approx.)
3) Honda Losing Premium Market Share in India: Honda presently exist right till Hornet 160R and then completely vanishes from the lightweight premium market. The large gap that can be felt from INR 1 lakh has helped rivals place products with much ease, taking away the bunch of sales that were once in the hands of Honda products. The old Honda CBR150R was not capable of breaking into the sales of Yamaha R15 in the last few years.
4) Better to Invest on Localization of New Models: Investing more money into an already slow-selling product is worth nothing while getting the new design and localizing it to a good extent can promise better results for the next few years. Most brands have moved the old products as they were not willing to invest more in BS4 upgrades. Honda could do the same and bring a new engine with better economy and performance than ever. This investment could be the biggest negative for rivals as their future products will not have easy access to product slots in the Indian market.
5) Best Time to Gain Popularity & Make Fans Happy: As many queries regarding the new CBR150R arise every day, Honda should hit the right spot. As the brand went forward for CB300R with a higher priority, the New CBR150R should be placed next in order to get the maximum benefits from the popularity point of view.
The maximum number of sales in the above INR 1.25 lakh segment comes from the popularity of the product among the buyers. We feel that this is the right time for Honda to launch the latest CBR150R in India if they want to survive in the INR 1 lakh to INR 2 lakh price segment.
