Honda Imports Two Units of Vario; Denies Launch in the Country

The leading Japanese auto manufacturer, Honda has imported two units of its 125cc motorcycle, Honda Vario in the country. According to the sources from Honda, the bike has made its entry for R&D and evaluation purposes only. Honda Vario is basically a step-through motorcycle that comes with a 125cc, air-cooled, fuel injected heart churning out 11.3PS of power and 10.5Nm of torque. However, Honda officials have denied any plans of launching the vehicle in India. The reason seems the unpopularity of step-through motorcycles like Bajaj M80 and Hero Honda Street introduced in 1980’s and 1997 respectively that failed miserably in the Indian market. However, Bajaj M80 became a bit popular at some point but failed to register any impressive sales numbers. Unlike India, the step through motorcycle culture is flourishing well in the South East Asian countries like Cambodia and Indonesia.

Honda Vario comes with a unique start-stop function like the one that is available in Hero MotoCorp Splendor iSmart. The Gurgaon-based manufacturer already leads Honda in terms of introducing this all-new feature in its product. The technology involves auto-stop of the engine in case of idling conditions, which may prove a boon for the Indians as they have to undergo strict traffic and day to day hike in petrol prices. Though Honda Vario is not coming to India, we expect some of its upcoming two-wheelers to come with the same technology, in order to compete with the largest two-wheeler manufacturer of the country.