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Bigger bikes to hit roads from July
Petrolheads have much to rejoice as the government has finally approved motorbikes with up to 350cc engines for the streets.
Petrolheads have much to rejoice as the government has finally approved motorbikes with up to 350cc engines for the streets.
Enthusiasts, however, don't need to get their chequebooks out just yet as bikes from brands like Royal Enfield won't be available for purchase until next July.
The approval for manufacturing and distributing the motorbikes came at a home ministry meeting yesterday, the culmination of years of negotiations between bike manufacturers and the government.
"We will allow the manufacture and distribution of 350cc motorcycles. From now on, these higher engine power motorcycles can legally ply the roads," said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who presided over the meeting.
Currently, bikes with over 165cc engines cannot be manufactured or imported for the local market. According to the Motorcycle Industry Development Policy 2018, manufacturers can export motorcycles with up to 500cc engines.
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission recommended raising the allowable engine displacement to 350cc.
The government allowed motorcycles with up to 165cc engines with its Import Policy Order-2015-2018.
Talking to The Daily Star, the home minister said law enforcers would also get bikes with higher displacement engines so that suspects cannot outrun them.
Asked if the bikes would be suitable for Bangladeshi roads, he said, "There is no relationship between the engine capacity of the bike and its speed."
The meeting was attended by the senior secretary to the Security Services Division, the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation chairman, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, representatives of police headquarters and the Ifad Group chairman.
Ifad Group had been asking for this change since it signed a memorandum of understanding with Royal Enfield in 2021 to become the brand's sole distributor here.
The smallest displacement engine Royal Enfield makes is 346cc.
Talking to this newspaper, Ifad Group Vice-Chairman Taskeen Ahmed said they expect to go into commercial operation from July 2024 and will launch four models -- Royal Enfield Bullet, Meteor, Hunter and Classic.
Royal Enfield has so far invested Tk 150 crore into production and this is slated to go up to Tk 250 crore, he said.
Taskeen said permission from the home ministry had been the only hurdle before they could go for commercial production. Permissions from the industries and commerce ministries have been received, he said.
Three manufacturers had written to the government urging it to allow bikes with higher capacity engines on the streets.
Rancon Motorbikes Ltd, manufacturer of Suzuki, and Runner Automobiles said they want the withdrawal of the existing engine capacity ceiling.
Kawasaki on December 5 asked the commerce ministry to increase the allowable engine displacement to 250cc as it wants to expand its business in Bangladesh.
The approval comes when a sharp and unregulated growth of vehicles, especially motorcycles and three-wheelers, over the last few years has contributed to a spike in the number of crashes and casualties.
