Hero-Honda's new CBZ 'Xtreme' at Rs 56,500

New Delhi, Oct 9: Hero Honda, leading manufacturers of motocycles worldwide, today re-launched CBZ as an all new power-packed and sporty 150 cc 'CBZ X-treme' in the premium segment, to take on rival Bajaj Auto's Pulsar.

''The market is hungry for action in the premium segment, and we want to leverage that space with the all new CBZ X-treme, which is a sporty and powerful bike targetted at the connoisseurs of style and performance,'' Hero Honda Motors Ltd MD&CEO Pawan Munjal told reporters at the extravagant launch here, adding ''It is not a commuter's bike.'' The new CBZ with a 14.2 BHP powerful engine, denoting a 'sharp and strong' image, is priced at Rs 54,500 for the disc kick version and Rs 56,500 for the disc self variant (both ex-showroom Delhi).

Hero Honda's other offerings in the premium segment are the 225 cc 'Karisma' and the 150 cc 'Achiever.' The new model will be manufactured out of the Gurgaon plant.

Mr Munjal, however, refused to divulge any further details as the company will soon be announcing its second quarter results in two weeks.

Earlier in the year, Mr Munjal had announced that the company will be launching 8 new products by the end of this fiscal. The 'Glamour' Fuel Injection was launched in June this year, followed by the CBZ-Xtreme launched today.

Mr Munjal said, ''We have a slew of new products across all categories (including the cruiser) lined up to hit the roads in the next few months. We are also working on another bike in the premium segment, outside of the 8 products we announced earlier, which will be unveiled shortly. The premium segment is where the demand lies.'' The company commands a 10 per cent market share and is planning a leadership share of the consumer (premium) segment. It sold 30 lakh units across all segments last year, and 3 lakh units this September.

The older 175 cc CBZ was launched in 1999, and was phased out a couple of months back to make way for the new verion. Bookings for the new 5-gear transmission bike are open from today, however, the vehicle will commercially be available only by the end of this month.

Some features of Hero Honda's new offering include LED tail light and Split Rear Grip (first time on any two-wheeler in India), great pickup at 0-60 kmph in five seconds, 3-year/40,000 kms warranty, pilot lamps above the head light, integrated tail light and winkers with the visor, black alloy wheels, among others.

The bike will be availabe in five colours including the new metallic blue and sports red, besides candy blazing red, black and silver.

UNI