China's Haojue bikes hit roads

Karnaphuli Industries has started assembling Haojue motorcycles of China at a Tk 100-crore plant in Tongi.
The Chinese firm, Haojue Holdings, tied up with the local company to establish a foothold in the growing domestic market.  
Sales of the 150cc bikes kicked off yesterday at an event at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the city.  
The bikes with a price tag of Tk 1.65 lakh will deliver a mileage of 50 kilometres per litre and hit roads across the country, said SM Nuruzzaman, senior general manager of Karnaphuli Industries.
The company plans to introduce another two models -- 100cc and 125cc -- next month.
Karnaphuli aims to sell 2,500 units of Haojue bikes this year and 13,800 units next year, Nuruzzaman told The Daily Star.
The bikes will be sold through eight showrooms and 42 dealers of Karnaphuli. Customers will get after-sales services for 10 years, he said, adding that the plant has a capacity of assembling 1,500 units a month.
Haojue has two motorcycle manufacturing bases in Jiangmen and Changzhou in China.
Haojue Holdings is also the manufacturer of Suzuki motorcycles and exporting this brand to more than 70 countries, including the USA, Australia and Japan, according to its website.
The motorcycle market in Bangladesh is heating up as Japanese auto giant Honda has already started selling locally assembled motorcycles and plans to open a manufacturing plant in the country in a couple of years. Currently, assemblers and manufacturers together sell 3 lakh to 3.5 lakh units of motorcycle a year, according to industry insiders.
The Indian Bajaj brand is the market leader in Bangladesh with its 45-49 percent share. Walton, Runner, TVS and Yamaha are the other leading brands.   
Nurul Mostofa, executive director of Karnaphuli Group, the owning company of Karnaphuli Industries, also attended the event.