Harley Davidson Street 750 becomes the Indian Motorcycle Of The Year 2015

Kick starting the Auto Awards season this year, the 8th Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) and the 10th Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) Awards were announced yesterday in Mumbai amidst a gathering of some of the most influential Indian Automobile industry. The most affordable Harley-Davidson in India- Street 750 has won the Indian Motorcycle Of The Year (IMOTY) 2015, while the 10th Indian Car Of The Year (ICOTY) title has been given to the Hyundai Elite i20.

Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited; Aspi Bhathena, Chairman, IMOTY 2015 and Bob Rupani, Chairman ICOTY 2015, presented the Indian Motorcycle of the Year trophy to the Harley-Davidson Street 750 on behalf of the esteemed jury of IMOTY 2015 and the Indian Car of the Year trophy to the team of Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

No doubt that the H-D Street 750 is being the most loved motorcycle in the 2014. People were eagerly waiting for this low cost cruiser. Harley Davidson India hit the bull's eye by launching it on very competitive price of Rs. 4.1 lac at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo in February 2014. The bike is getting a huge response across the nation and is one of the most selling performance motorcycles in India for 2014. It also helped the company to register a growth of 155.62 per cent, which is the highest in the two-wheeler industry.

Congratulating the winners, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, “The automobile and auto-ancillary sector in India is growing at a fast pace. The consumer is ever-discerning and automakers seek to outperform each other. In such a super-competitive environment of innovation and strategies, JK Tyre supported ICOTY & IMOTY Awards’ endeavour to recognize those who challenge the status quo. The winner of the ICOTY & IMOTY award embodies this very spirit of dynamic leadership and creative engineering, while keeping the needs and the comfort of the consumer upper most in mind. I congratulate the winner of the ICOTY & IMOTY 2015, as well as all the nominees.”

“Over the last 10 years, in association with our elite panel comprising eminent jury members, JK Tyre supported ICOTY and IMOTY Awards have always been held in the highest esteem and has been the preferred platform to recognize and felicitate automakers who have their finger on the pulse of this nation and its consumers.”, he added.

This year, the final short list of contenders saw a dozen motorcycles battling it out for the Indian automobile industry’s highest honour. The chosen ones were then put through a further round of assessment by the jury members at Lonavala on 4 December 2014. After a session of evaluation followed by voting, the top three contenders in each category turned out to be the Harley-Davidson Street 750, KTM RC 390 and the Suzuki Gixxer. The nominated motorcycles were judged on various parameters such as price, fuel economy, styling, comfort, safety, performance, practicality, technical innovation, value for money and suitability for Indian riding conditions.

Congratulating the winning motorcycle, Mr. Aspi Bhatena, Chairman, IMOTY 2015 said, “The Indian motorcycle industry has come a long way in the last 8 years since the inception of the first IMOTY awards. Today the IMOTY awards is the most prestigious in the country and all manufacturers in India look forward to them and we would like to congratulate the winner for making an outstanding motorcycle which is not just about performance is about the complete package along with the best value for money as well. It’s been a tough one this year with no less than a dozen contenders for the top spot. Even between the final three it was a close call with each of the three motorcycles representing the best of their respective segments. In the end the IMOTY jury, must congratulate Harley-Davidson, for the Street 750 is a worthy winner and delivers more on every evaluation count. It is compact, easy to ride, has a great chassis and a superb engine.”

Every year, representatives from leading automobile magazines in India constitute the jury of Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY). This year IMOTY was headed by veteran auto journalist Aspi Bhatena, Chairman IMOTY. This year’s jury for IMOTY comprised Aspi Bhathena and Aninda Sardar (Bike India), Girish Karkera and Abhinav Mishra (BBC Top Gear), Shubhabrata Marmar and Halley Prabhakar (Overdrive), Yogendra Pratap and Rahul Ghosh (Auto Bild India), Arup Das (AutoX), Kartik Ware (Motoring World) and Sirish Chandran and Abhay Verma (Evo).

The award ceremony witnessed the presence of eminent guests, including scions of the corporate world, senior officials from the auto industry and representatives of industrial bodies. IMOTY is the most credible and coveted motorcycle award in the country. This award is an expert and independent judgement on the best new motorcycle sold in India and is aimed at recognising focused, consistent and rigorous efforts made by motorcycle manufacturers in the areas of design excellence, innovation and R&D. The award has been gaining prominence with each passing year and JK Tyre has been associated with it since its inception.

Past winners of the IMOTY:

Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi (2008), Yamaha R15 (2009), Kawasaki Ninja 250R (2010), Honda CB Twister (2011), Honda CBR 250R (2012), KTM Duke 200 (2013), Royal Enfield Continental (2014)