Top 7 upcoming two-wheeler brands in India; Husqvarna, Jawa, Norton and others

With a total of 17.7 million two-wheelers sold here last year, India is currently the world's biggest market for two-wheelers beating neighbouring country China. Calculations say that over 48,000 units of two-wheelers are sold every day in India.

The industry has a good mix of domestic as well as foreign manufacturers. Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, and Royal Enfield are the Indian giants while Honda, Yamaha, Harley-Davidson and Triumph are the leading foreigners. As the industry grows at a swift pace, more two-wheeler brands have shown interest in doing business here.

We have compiled a list of top seven two-wheeler brands coming to India.

Husqvarna Motorcycles

Austrian bike-maker KTM is all set to launch 114-year-old Swedish motorcycle brand Husqvarna in India by 2020. The brand will come to India through Bajaj Auto and KTM alliance, which is celebrating its 10th year of cooperation.

KTM will use Bajaj Auto's Chakan plant to roll out the Husqvarna brand of bikes in the country. The brand is known for motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. After KTM stepped in, Husqvarna had unveiled the mainstream and road-biased models -- Vitpilen 401, Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 701 motorcycles last year. Both Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 are based on KTM 390 Duke. Husqvarna is expected to get positioned slightly premium over KTM in India.

SWM Motorcycles

The Italian brand is set to foray in India in association with Kinetic Engineering's new entity MotoRoyale. The first motorcycle of SWM is reportedly getting readied to hit the Indian roads in early 2018.

Multiple reports claim SuperDual is the first motorcycle coming from the brand SWM to India. The SuperDual is a dual purpose bike clearly targeting to capitalize growing adventure bike interest in the country. The motorcycle is powered by a four-stroke, single-cylinder 600cc engine. The engine will make 54 bhp of power and 53.5 Nm of peak torque. Expected to be priced under Rs 6 lakh, the launch of SVM Motorcycles in India is expected in the coming months.

Norton Motorcycle Company

British motorcycle marque Norton Motorcycle Company is another brand set to enter India in association with Kinetic Engineering's MotoRoyale. Norton has forged a joint venture with Kinetic Group.

The joint venture is a 51 percent and 49 percent partnership between Kinetic and Norton with the former having the majority of ownership. Norton likely to use Kinetic's Ahmednagar plant for CKD operations. The JV plans to launch its first motorcycle model in India by March 2018. It will be a limited-edition Commando via CBU line.

By the end of 2018, Norton-Kinetic Group will begin local production and that will initiate the launch of Commando 961 Sport, Commando 961 Cafe Racer, Dominator Sport and DomiRacer in a phased manner.

Mahindra GenZe

Mahindra is reportedly planning to introduce electric scooters under the brand GenZe, currently available in the USA. The GenZe 2.0 has been designed for urban commuting to combat parking, congestion, and pollution. It's powered by a removable 1.6 kWh lithium-ion battery which can be charged via a standard electrical outlet. The scooter can be fully charged in four hours.

The GenZe comes with 48.3 kilometres range and it can reach a top speed of 48kmph in 8 seconds. Four driving modes are also on offer. The GenZe scooter weighs just 105.5kg.

Jawa

Mahindra and Mahindra is set to bring back the iconic JAWA brand to India. The first motorcycle for the second innings of the brand is likely to be launched in early 2019.

Rumours suggest that the recently launched 350 OHC retro-styled motorcycle would be the first model to come to India. The 350 OHC is sold in Europe now. JAWA 350 OHC is powered by a single-cylinder 397.2cc, 4-stroke air-cooled engine sourced from Chinese manufacturer Shinray.

The engine also boasts of fuel injection system from Delphi. It churns out 27.7hp at 6,500rpm and a maximum torque of 30.6Nm at 5,000rpm. The engine meets Euro-IV emission norms and it also the first-ever JAWA with ABS.

Lambretta scooters

Remember Lambretta? The brand belongs to Italy but it had carved a niche among scooter lovers of India between the 1980s and 1990s. After a long hiatus of nearly two decades, Switzerland-based consortium Innocenti S.A. has given a rebirth to the iconic scooter brand at the 2017 EICMA show.

The Milan-based brand celebrated its resurrection with the V-Special models -- V50 Special, V125 Special and V200 Special. The three scooter models have a retro design with more modern features and cycle parts. In February 2018, deliveries will start in Europe. India launch is expected in the second half of 2018.

Cleveland CycleWerks

Cleveland CycleWerks (CCW) is an American boutique motorcycle-maker based in Cleveland, Ohio. Set up in 2009, CCW debuted its first motorcycle, a hardtail bobber called 'the Heist' in February 2010. CCW offers small displacement motorcycles, ranging from 125cc to 450cc.

The firm reportedly is in talks with Laish-Madison MotorWerks (LMMW), a company based in Hyderabad, Telangana. LMMW plans to assemble CCW bikes in India. The initial offerings are believed to be Ace (retro-classic commuter), Misfit (cafe racer) and FXr (dirt bike).