UM India to make 400cc and 450cc engines locally

Two-wheeler manufacturer UM India is in the process of localising its engine and powertrain for its 300-500cc motorcycle range and make India a hub for higher-displacement engines.

Managing director Rajeev Mishra told Autocar Professional that UM’s R&D company in India has begun work on engine development for the local market and plans to launch its locally developed engines in 400cc and 450cc displacement in 2015-16.

“These will be completely ‘Made-in-India’ engines. They will be fitted in sports bikes that we will launch after the Cruiser range. Though the powertrain and engines will not be 100 percent localised but definitely 60-70 percent components will be locally made with complete assembly done here,” he added. 

The company has spent Rs 50 crore on engine development R&D and has plans to invest further in new product development. “Future development will depend on demand-supply but we are looking at developing a few more engines and a few more bikes. The investment for bike development is nothing less than Rs 100 crore for a complete bike and we are talking about 2-3 new bikes so the investment will be close to Rs 100-300 crore that will be staggered across three years.”

The Cruiser bikes for the Indian market have been developed almost from scratch for the Indian market with about 2-3 models to be launched initially and one new model to be added every six months.  The 350cc range of Cruiser motorcycles that it starts production with from end-March 2015 at the Kashipur, Uttarakhand manufacturing facility of Lohia Auto, its joint venture partner, will be slowly replaced by the 400cc and 450cc engine range of sports bikes. These engines will also be exported to its overseas sites with India to be slowly developed as a hub for higher-displacement engines. The company does not plan to go beyond the 500cc range of motorcycles in India.