Keeping in mind the upcoming BS-VI emission rules, Honda is bracing for a major reshuffle of its 2-wheeler models in India. This move is primarily aimed at updating models to follow the new rules and stopping the production of models that are not viable for the update.
Therefore, the production of some models might be stopped and as suggested by a report on BikeWale, Honda CB Unicorn 160 could be one of them. With Hornet 160R, X-Blade, and CB Unicorn 160, Honda has three bikes in the 160cc segment. While CB Unicorn 160 is the cheapest among the lot, its sales have been staggering lately and have not been up to Honda’s liking.
A few years ago Honda Unicorn was one among the famous bikes in the segment but the advent of feature laden bikes led to decline in its popularity. Not to mention that the brand’s own offerings such as CB Hornet and X-Blade led to some cannibalization of Unicorn’s sales. The taste of customers over these years has changed and as the youth gets more focused on looks and features, CB Unicorn sure does feel long in the tooth.
CB Unicorn was supposed to be an offering for such customers who wanted a commuter bike with a bump in power while maintaining a good mileage. The aforementioned report also states that the customer demand on dealerships for Unicorn has gone down drastically. Features and looks seem to be dominating the segment as of now, and CB Unicorn has neither.
As far as the mechanicals of Honda CB Unicorn are concerned, the bike gets a 162.71-cc unit. The output of this single cylinder engine is rated at 14.5 Bhp and 14.61 Nm. Honda offer its Honda Eco Technology with the said bike and the brand claims that this maximizes the mileage while enhancing the engine’s performance. The bike has a 5-speed transmission as standard.
Honda CB Unicorn’s sales too do not have a saving story to tell and in January 2019, the bike could sell only 4 measly units. Contrast this with the sales of 2,666 models of Unicorn sold in January 2018 and Honda’s decision starts making sense. While Honda has made no comment on the matter so far, moving this bike off the model line-up before the BS-VI norms kick in could be a sensible move for Honda. Because as mentioned in the article before, such low sales do not make Unicorn a viable bike to update as per the new emission norms.
The company also has a Unicorn 150 in the market and as compared to the more powerful CB Unicorn 160, this has been bringing in good sales numbers. Perhaps a price tag lower than the elder sibling makes Unicorn 150 a hit among the customers.
