Polaris to sell Indian Motorcycles via CKD route

Polaris Industries, the company that owns the famous Indian Motorcycles brand, is planning to assemble some of its motorcycles in India. The American manufacturer is currently studying the Indian market and its competitors.

This news was confirmed by Pankaj Dubey, MD, Polaris India. For now, the company has set a target of three to five years to start the completely-knocked-down operations but might advance its plan if things move in the right direction. The company took this call after it found that there is a great demand for its most affordable motorcycle – the Indian Scout. More than 50 per cent of its overall sales are contributed by this model and in order to stay competitive, it needs to start assembling the bike in India. Currently, along with the Indian Scout, Polaris sells the entire range in India as completely-built-up (CBU) [FV2] units, which attracts heavy taxation.

Polaris currently has only two dealerships in India – Delhi and Gurgaon. However, it has planned for four new showrooms in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad.  The Mumbai and Chennai outlets will be opened next month, while the remaining two will open its shutters in August. The company plans to have a total of 12 dealerships by 2016.