Kawasaki to Establish New Motorcycle Plant in India and to Launch Local Production of High-displacement Model Ninja 1000

Tokyo, July 7, 2017 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today the opening of a new plant at India Kawasaki Motors Pvt. Ltd. (IKM). The new production lines will go into operation around September, following the introduction of production equipment. In addition to the 250–650 cc models currently being manufactured by IKM in India, this new plant will be used for local production of the Ninja 1000—offering the highest maximum engine displacement (1,043 cc) of all Kawasaki motorcycles manufactured in India.

India is the largest motorcycle market worldwide, with FY 2016 sales reaching approximately 17.6 million units, among which about 680,000 were medium- and large-displacement motorcycles with engine displacements of 250 cc or higher. As the Indian economy grows, Kawasaki expects to see continued expansion of the market for medium- and high-displacement leisure-use motorcycles, one of the company's strongest areas. The launch of operations at the new production plant will help the company respond to local market demand for these products and provide Kawasaki-brand motorcycles on a wider scale throughout India.

Kawasaki initially established IKM in 2010 inside the Bajaj Auto Ltd. (BAL) Akurdi Plant facilities in Pune, contracting out production of Kawasaki-brand motorcycles and utilizing BAL's sales network to sell products. In 2013, IKM began its own production of Kawasaki products and established an independent sales and after-sales service network in India, steadily laying the foundations for motorcycle business in the domestic market. Following the start of operations at the new IKM plant (production capacity: 16,000 units/year), operations will cease at the former plant (production capacity: 5,000 units/year) and all production activities will be relocated to the new facility.

Overview of India Kawasaki Motors Pvt. Ltd.