UM Motorcycles, the joint venture between US-based UM International and Lohia Auto, plans to manufacture engines in India to fully localise its bikes as it looks to strengthen presence in the domestic mid-premium segment.
The company plans to invest Rs 50 crore in starting manufacturing of engines, which are currently assembled from imported parts from different markets across the globe, as part of its plans to fully localise its motorcycles in the next 12-18 months.
"Our current level of localisation is 60 percent with the remaining 40 percent, mostly engines, being imported. We plan to fully localise our bikes, for which we are considering whether to outsource it or manufacture it ourselves," UM India & Asia, Middle East and Africa Director Rajeev Mishra told PTI.
Within the next three months, the company will a take a final decision on it, he added. When asked about investments, he said, "Our investment for engine localisation will be Rs 50 crore."
The company, which had planned to start selling its bikes in August, started dispatching the models from yesterday. Its models Renegade Commando and Renegade Sports, both in the 300-cc segment, are priced at Rs 1.49 lakh and Rs 1.59 lakh, respectively (ex-showroom Delhi).
On the company's future product lineup, he said, "In March 2017, we will be launching the Classic Renegade and after that, we will launch a new model every six months." When asked about sales expectations, Mishra said in the remaining part of the ongoing fiscal, the target is to sell 12,000 units.
So far, the company has received orders for 4,200 bikes. "In the next financial year we are targeting to do around 40,000 units," he said, adding the company would also be gradually ramping up production at its Kashipur facility in Uttarakhand. The current production is around 1,250 units a month, which will be increased to 2,500 units in the next three months, he said.
"By October next year, the target is to produce around 5,000 units a month," he said. US-based UM International, LLC and Lohia Auto had joined hands in September 2014 to form UM Lohia Two-Wheelers Pvt Ltd (UML). The two partners have so far invested Rs 100 crore for business expansion.
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