Tohan Zarnesti to launch the first Romanian motor scooters

The sole Romanian maker of bicycles, motorbikes and motorcycles, Tohan Zarnesti, next year will launch the first motor scooters assembled in Romania, called Hero Winner and Hero Puch, said Liviu Stoica, the company’s general manager.

“Market demand made us conclude a contract with Indian motorcycle maker Hero Honda, back in 1999, in order to assemble motor scooters and motorbikes at Zarnesti,” Stoica added.

There are very few motor scooters in Romania, but they are very popular in the West, as they are mainly used in the big cities with a lot of traffic and where parking spots are hard to find.

Tohan has already produced about 50 motor scooters, but the official market launch will take place after they are homologated by the Romanian Auto Register (RAR). “RAR has confirmed that we will receive homologation soon, therefore we may begin to sell next year,” the company manager says.

Motor scooters are geared with 49 cmc engines, while the sale price will stand between 500 and 750 dollars. “We are working on an installment system, which is now available only to the plant’s employees,” Stoica mentioned.

Tofan made over 100,000 motorcycles until 1997, when it halted production. The most popular brands were Carpati, Mobra and Hoinar. Production was halted because of the domestic suppliers’ inability to make engines in line with the pollution norms imposed by RAR and the low level of orders.

“Until 1990, the plant in Zarnesti used to sell more than 15,000 motorcycles annually, but the level went down to 3,000 in 1995,” Stoica said, adding that a slight increase in sales has been noticed over the past few years.

Annual sales of motorcycles and motor scooters in Romania may exceed 10,000 units in Romania, including the second-hand market, Stoica stated.

According to Stoica, motorcycle sales posted a negative evolution on the Romanian market, but the level has increased lately due to the development of the import and second-hand market.

According to Ciprian Popescu, chairman of Dual Racing Team motoclub, about 4,000 imported motorcycles have been sold in Romania since 1990, joined by motor scooters, whose number cannot be estimated since they were not registered and the owners do not have to have a driver’s licence.

Second-hand imports are estimated at over 2,500 units.

According to importers, the best-selling motorcycle brand is KTM, from the enduro and motocross range. According to Autoland Cluj and Autorola Bucharest, the brand’s Romanian dealers, 50 such motorcycles were sold in Romania this year. KTM totally sold more than 200 units.