Kawasaki Estrella likely to rival Royal Enfield in India

It seems Royal Enfield's success story in the mid-sized motorcycle segment has prompted other motorcycle manufacturers to test the waters in the segment. The latest bike-maker rumoured to have gone this way is the Kawasaki. According to the import and export data details of Zauba, Kawasaki India has imported the BJ250, also called Estrella for research and analysis purposes.

If Kawasaki India goes ahead to launch the Estrella in India, the 250cc motorcycle will go up against Royal Enfield's bestseller, the Classic 350. The Estrella is powered by a 249cc single-cylinder air-cooled fuel-injected engine that develops 17bhp at 7,500rpm and 18Nm of torque at 5,000rpm mated to five-speed transmission.

The Estrella comes with traditional design, just like the Royal Enfield range of motorcycles. It has round chrome-bordered headlight, engine and frame in black colour. The Estrella also comes with spoke wheels in dark colour treatment.

According to the import data, the motortycle costs Rs. 4,02,353 via the CBU route. At that price point, Kawasaki could not challenge Royal Enfield range that starts at Rs. 1.30 lakh. In probability, Kawasaki will go for the completely knocked down route and will assemble the bike at its Pune facility. This will help the Japanese bike-maker keep the pricing under Rs. 2 lakh.

Bajaj Auto had earlier said it wished to enter the territory of Royal Enfield. In the beginning of April, Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto, had said: "Every mature segment becomes a two-horse race eventually in any given market. The entire market is monopolised today by one person... there is room for a second person. We can create a brand for that space. I am sure everyone else is thinking about it. The success of Royal Enfield is not lost out on anyone."