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Honda Discontinues This Motorcycle In India – A Shocking Move Ahead Of The Festive Season
Most automobile manufacturers in India introduce new products around the festive season. Though Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India recently launched the new SP160 motorcycle, the Japanese automaker subsequently discontinued the X-Blade motorcycle.
This is quite surprising as the festive season generally attracts plenty of customers to dealerships across the country. This increased footfall is likely to boost sales figures by a significant margin.
That being said, the decision to discontinue the Honda X-Blade motorcycle was mainly due to the poor sales performance witnessed by the model in the Indian motorcycle market. In fact, the motorcycle was poorly received by its target audience.
On top of that, the launch of the new Honda SP160 motorcycle seems to have made the X-Blade almost redundant. As such, stopping the production of a low-volume motorcycle like the X-Blade will positively impact the automaker's manufacturing efficiency and also reduce input costs.
Speaking about the Honda X-Blade, the motorcycle was positioned between the Honda Unicorn and the sportier Honda Hornet motorcycle. It is also worth mentioning that the Honda X-Blade combined the characteristics of both motorcycles very well.
In fact, the Honda X-Blade combines the youthful design of the Hornet motorcycle with the relaxed riding nature of the Honda Unicorn motorcycle. While this concept may look balanced on paper, it seems the model has not been fruitful in practicality.
In comparison, the newly launched Honda SP160 looks very youthful without being too aggressive. This approach is likely to attract a younger audience looking for a decently powerful commuter motorcycle.
Powering the Honda X-Blade is a 162.7cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine with 13.27bhp at 7,500rpm and 14.58Nm at 5,500rpm. However, unlike the Unicorn, the X-Blade rides on smaller 17-inch tyres on both ends.
Thoughts About The Honda X-Blade Motorcycle
On paper, the concept of the Honda X-Blade will make a lot of sense as it combines the youthful and aggressive design of the Honda Hornet motorcycle with the relaxed riding nature of the Honda Unicorn motorcycle.
However, this approach worked the opposite for the automaker. For commuter buyers, the Honda X-Blade looked too aggressive, whereas for younger audiences the motorcycle lacked the sporty riding posture offered by the Hornet motorcycle.
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