Honda unveils new Activa, sports bike CBR 650F

Honda unveiled a new version of its popular two-wheeler, Activa 125, and also announced a new bike, CBR 650F, on the first day of the 12th Auto Expo in Greater Noida on Wednesday.

The Activa 125 will be available in the market from April, 2014.

The CBR 650F, meanwhile, will be available from mid-2015. The prices for the two-wheelers were not revealed by the Japanese auto-maker. Sources, however, said the sports bike would be priced at around ₹7 lakh.

The company will also invest ₹1,100 crore to set up a new plant, its fourth, in Ahmedabad. The plant, which will come up by 2015-16, will have a production rate of 1.2 million units.

Around 3,000 new jobs will be created at the plant, which will mainly manufacture scooters, demand of which has surged in the world's biggest two-wheeler market.

Last month, Honda expanded production capacity at its third motorcycle factory in India by 600,000 vehicles a year. The fourth plant will bring Honda's total capacity in India to 5.8 million motorcycles a year, the company said.

The CBR 650F will be assembled in India and powered by an all-new 650cc four-cylinder engine. The engine will come with a six-speed gearbox.

There is a growing buzz in the sportsbike segment in India and Honda's new bike will put it within reach of several motorcycling enthusiasts. The bike would compete with the Kawasaki Ninja 650 and the Triumph Street Triple.

With inputs from Agencies