Scooters in India

First the bad news the age old metal bodied geared scooters may be heading towards a timely death in the country in due course of time, then the silver lining, the age old set of two wheels could re-invent itself in the form of moto-scooters. These mean machines are taller, stronger and faster than their predecessors and can deliver a punch which would be as good as the motorcycles if not better. Kinetic Blaze by Kinetic motors is as attempt by the company to retain a market share in the scooter segment which is become a niche market with every passing day. These new set of wheels with their peppy performance is meant to draw the attention of the metro sexual two wheeler buyers. Kinetic Blaze was one of the seven designs the company had sourced from the legendary Italian two wheeler manufacturer ItalJet Moto. Kinetic Blaze is one of the biggest scooters to have traveled on the Indian roads. In terms of power it is only two Bhp less than the Bajaj Pulsar. Kinetic is pinning its hopes on this model to revive the sagging scooter market in this country.

Honda Scooters

Similarly HondaEterno from the stables of Hondascooters and motorcycles India has been instrumental in reviving the geared scooter market in India. Eterno has a four stroke engine to counter the problem of fuel efficiency which the scooters face. It also has the highest ground clearance in its class for a smooth riding.

Bajaj Auto

This has prompted the traditional manufacturers of scooters in this country Bajaj Auto to sit up and take notice. They have come up with Bajaj Wave DTSI which is stylish and are cheap scooters than any other expensive set of two wheels in the market.

Scooters have come a long way since it was first launched in India way back in 1975, for thirty odd years these metal bodied geared machines have ruled the roost on the Indian roads. The Indian Government bought the Innocenti Company of Italy the original owners of Lambretta brand of scooters to set up scooters India limited. The first scooter to have rolled out of the company was called the Vijai Super. In the same year it launched the Lambretta brand of scooters for the overseas market.

During almost the same time another phenomenon was hitting the Indian two wheeler market, in the year 1959 Bajaj Auto had already acquired license from the Government of India to manufacture two and three wheelers in the country. It took Bajaj a little over a decade to launch its' most successful model Chetak named after the horse of a legendary Rajput ruler. Not to be left behind the Lohia Machinery Limited or LML as it is popularly known had changed the face of scooters in India with its collaboration with Piaggio of Italy.

However the dream run of these metal bodied scooters have been stalled by theirs more illustrious cousins the motorcycles. Bajaj Auto tried to do some damage control and wean away customers from the motorcycle segment by launching the four stroke legend which offered a bike like mileage of about 60-70 kmpl. But with Bajaj officially stopping productions this year the only way for scooters to survive would be to go towards the Kinetic Blaze and HondaDio way.