Kawasaki discontinues its highest-selling motorcycle in India

- Kawasaki discontinues the BS4 Ninja 300 in India

- BS6 model likely to be launched around August 2020

- Could also be replaced by the larger Ninja 400 with BS6 update 

Kawasaki has surprisingly pulled the plug on its highest-selling motorcycle, the Ninja 300, in India. According to our sources, the production of the BS4 Ninja 300 was stopped around the month of October-November 2019 in the country and the dealers are currently only clearing the stocks. We inquired a Kawasaki spokesperson about the same, however, an official confirmation is yet to be received. 

Now, the question is - if and when the Japanese bike maker will launch the BS6 model of the motorcycle? According to our dealer sources and looking at the popularity of the Ninja 300 in India, Kawasaki could consider introducing the updated BS6-compliant model. But, there’s a catch. The new version won’t be available before the BS6 deadline (1 April, 2020) and Kawasaki is likely to bring in the motorcycle around August-September in India. The delay can be associated with the time required for the development and testing of the BS6 model.

The other possibility, on the basis of information received by our other sources, is that Kawasaki could pull the plug on the Ninja 300 and replace it with its bigger and more powerful sibling, the Ninja 400. Now, we know that Kawasaki retails the Ninja 400 at Rs 5 lakhs (ex-showroom) which makes it quite an expensive motorcycle. Considering the premium of Rs 2 lakhs over the Ninja 300, Kawasaki will have to close that gap by heavy localization of the Ninja 400. This should help the brand offer a larger-displacement motorcycle with higher performance while asking for a price closer to that of the Ninja 300.

Now, it remains to be seen what Kawasaki India’s smallest Ninja offering has in its fate. We will update with more clarification on the same as we inch closer to the BS6 deadline of 1 April 2020.