Hoping to see some quick course correction from Honda – for what looked like one of the most promising moves for India’s big bike market looks to have turned out to be one of the worst executed ones in recent times.
BHPian CrazY_DriVer recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
“Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Fool me three times, shame on both of us”
So now five times? That’s the story of the Honda Bigwing – the seperate premium network created under Honda’s Silver Wing-Mark to cater exclusively to the brand’s more premium offerings since 2019. Since then the brand has seen five overpriced launches – all market flops that resulted in big price corrections and even an abandoned launch!
1. Honda CB500X
- Launched: March 2021
- Launch Price: 6.87L
- Relaunched: February 2022
- Price reduction: 1.1L (16% on ex showroom)
BigWing started the trend with a massive 1.1L reduction in February 2022. Priced too optimistic, the vehicle price was slashed to sell off inventory and later discontinued.
2. Honda CBR 1000 RR-R
- Launched: August 2020
- Launch Price: 33L
- Relaunched: April 2022
- Price reduction: 10L (30% on ex showroom)
Next in line was the flagship supersport – with an unheard off 10L price cuts in April 2022. A couple of units were sold and no stocks were imported afterwards.
3. Honda CB300F
- Launched: August 2022
- Launch Price: 2.26L
- Relaunched: December 2022
- Price reduction: 64k (28% on ex showroom)
Most shocking price cut was of the CB300F within 4 months of launch with a massive slash after the market reception turned out to be a damp squib for Honda.
4. Honda CB500F
- Launched: Classified?
- Launch Price: ~6.5L onroad
Of the five bikes in the list, this would be the most secretive one – with just five bikes imported and sold at a high price of around 6.5L onroad. There was no official launch, all five bikes imported for showcase were disposed to owners and prospective owners were promised a launch in the early 2023, which never happened.
Honda probably realizing that it doesn’t stand a chance even with the usual price cuts?
5. Honda CB300R
- Launched: January 2022 (BS6 + CKD version)
- Launch Price: 2.77L
- Relaunched: October 2023
- Price reduction: 37k (13% on ex showroom)
Latest in the list is the Honda CB300R with a price revision, possibly as a response to the latest launches from Triumph and TVS.
To make matters worse – I hear the dealer network is very unhappy. H’ness sales are keeping the showrooms running but its sales have not been a patch on the RE figures as once expected – and to make matters worse – Honda India has not received any stocks of imported bikes in 2023. I had visited the showrooms back in March for myself and recently for a friend and the sales guys admit they are fed up of answering stock and delay queries from customers. The stocks of the popular CBR650R and Africa Twin are expected only in Q2 2024!
With this history – the question is if it is worth buying any new products from Honda Bigwing? Those who are willing to pay the typical Honda premium with which the products are being launched are likely to repent their decision within a few months – either with massive price reductions or product discontinuation.
What is the way forward? Hoping to see some quick course correction from Honda – for what looked like one of the most promising moves for India’s big bike market looks to have turned out to be one of the worst executed ones in recent times.
Keyword: Honda's Bigwing dealer network: A tale of sales flops & price cuts