NEW DELHI: Hero MotoCorp, India’s biggest motorcycle maker, is focusing on strengthening its premium bike segment, which is a growing and lucrative market in the country.
In fact, it plans to launch eight new premium motorcycles over the next eight quarters to grow volumes to capture this growing market.
These premium bike models will be in the 160cc to 450 cc range.
“We are strengthening our premium bike portfolio to drive sales and gain market share,” Niranjan Gupta, CEO at Hero MotoCorp, told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the launch of its third premium bike Karizma XMR priced at Rs 1.73 lakh at Delhi showroom.
He said the premium bike segment is growing rapidly with demand for premium motorcycles not only coming from metros and tier-I cities, but also from tier-II and -III cities.
“In the last three months we have launched three premium motorcycles,” Gupta noted. These are Xtreme 160R 4V, Harley Davidson X440, jointly produced by MotoCorp, and Harley-Davidson and Karisma XMR.
In fact, Hero's bet on the premium segment with the locally-produced Harley-Davidson X440, with over 25,000 bookings received within a month, is proving right. The company would pay its American partner a royalty fee from sales of the world's cheapest Harley, though it is yet to disclose a number.
Rival Bajaj Auto has also ramped up its premium segment launches with UK's Triumph, as it plans to take on market leader Royal Enfield in a space that sees one of the highest margins in the two-wheeler industry.
Hero is now aggressively tapping customers who are ready to open their purses and pay more for "the right brand."
“Going ahead, we will launch one new premium bike every quarter over the next eight quarters as we intend to win big in the premium segment,” Gupta said, elaborating the brand’s planned growth trajectory.
He said this premium segment is growing 20-25 per cent annually and the company wants to grow this “aspirational India” with new desirable products.
Gupta said a big chunk of the annual capex budget of Rs 1,000 would be allocated to new premium motorcycles.
