● Scout family likely to the be the first of the BS6 bikes
● Bigger bikes will follow soon after
● No plans for CKD operations any time soon
Polaris-owned Indian Motorcycle has been one of the worst hit big bike manufacturers in the transition to BS6 emission norms. The company has had no motorcycles to sell since the BS6 norms came into force on April 1 2020. Sadly, there won’t be any Indian Motorcycle models on sale till at least end 2020.
Speaking to Autocar India, Polaris India’s new country head, Lalit Sharma, disclosed that Indian Motorcycle will be bringing in its first BS6 motorcycles only towards the end of the year. Sharma tells us that an exact timeline is hard to commit to due to the global uncertainty, but the smaller Scout family is likely to be the first range of BS6 motorcycles to be launched in India.
Polaris has traditionally launched most, if not all, of its international line-up in our market. This includes the Scout, FTR, Chief and Chieftain range of motorcycles. The company’s entire line-up is powered by V-twin engines and the most recent launch in our market was the flat-track- inspired FTR 1200 that we reviewed in October 2019.
Indian Motorcycle is a niche player in our market, with all the motorcycles coming in as CBUs and being sold through a handful of dealerships. Polaris says it’s happy with the performance of the Indian Motorcycle brand in our market and has no plans to set up a CKD or local assembly unit in the near future.