Kolkata, Feb 23 (IANS) India Kawasaki Motors Pvt Ltd, which remained bullish on the country's premium motorcycles market, is looking to increase local procurement to reduce cost and increase sales, an official said here on Friday.
After its split from Bajaj Auto in April 2017, the Japanese motorcycle-maker has sold 1,500 units till date and expects to end the current financial year with sales of around 1,800 units.
"We are targeting to double our sales in the next year," the company's Managing Director Yutaka Yamashita told reporters here.
He said it sold 1,300 pieces through its partnership with Bajaj in 2016-17.
The motorcycle-maker, operating in the segment ranging from 250cc to 1,400cc, has been importing components from Japan, Thailand and Indonesia and assembling here but it has since started local procurement, he said.
"We have established a new (assembling) factory and a new development centre in Pune. We have started local procurements. We will expand local procurements to reduce cost," he said adding that manufacturing bikes totally in India is "not yet finalised".
The installed capacity of the new plant is currently around 10,000 units a year, he said on the sidelines of opening an exclusive brand outlet here.
Yamashita said the market for premium segment in India has been growing and the company has 22 exclusive brand outlets in India.
"We plan to open 10 more such outlets by March," he added.
