India to become new hub for ATV manufacturers

Adventour sports and vehicles are getting popular in India and that is why the Indian bike market is gaining a great commendable response for the new entry level performance bikes and ATVs. ATVs can be a significant part of the industry, but there are two problem with these machines, first these are really expensive and other you can't ride these on Public roads. Now, Indian Goverment has cleared one hurdle by allowing local manufacturing of the ATVs. Highways minister Oscar Fernandes has approved the proposal outlining the emissions and safety norms for producing this new class of vehicles in the country, officials said. The ministry will now seek views of various stakeholders, they said.

The reason behind the expensive price tags is the 100% import duty, which is levied while importing the vehicles or dismantle parts from abroad. Now, we are expecting that once after the local manufacturing started in India, Polaris will slash the price by a great extend. Therefore, after Polaris and Nebula, the most renowned manufacturers like Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki are about to start selling All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) in the country. While Yamaha and Suzuki are still looking for possibilities, Honda is on an advance stage and trying harder to launch its ATVs in the country sooner with an economical price tag to cater more population.

"ATVs are basically petrol-based mini-tractor style vehicles which make it easy to travel on undulating planes, but these are not good in terms of fuel efficiency and emissions. This is why we need to come up with emission standards before they can be manufactured in India," said an anonymous official. The person also said that Polaris is expecting from paramilitary forces such as BSF to use their offerings at the borders or war points of states like Rajasthan and Gujarat. Although Polaris have already collected their orders issued from Gujarat and Coastal Police. They have also provided 4 ATVs to BSF for testing on disordered and muddy terrains. But till now there are no orders issued by BSF officials.

Source: Economic Times