Hero plans to launch retro-styled Harley motorcycle in India
NEW DELHI: Leading twowheeler maker Hero MotoCorp is going full throttle to launch a Harley-Davidson model with retro styling as it looks to enter a very profitable segment in the premium motorcycle space, according to a senior company official.
The alliance between Hero and Harley-Davidson fructified last year after the iconic American two-wheeler maker announced discontinuation of sales and manufacturing operations in India, a decade after it started selling its premium bikes in the country.
“There are two legs to the Harley tie up strategy. One of course is that we are the sales distributors for Harley bikes in India. We have 14 dealers, around 30 touch points, and that is going well. The second part of the strategy is to launch a bike in that retro segment, which is almost one-third of the overall premium segment out of the profit pool,” Hero MotoCorp chief financial officer Niranjan Gupta said in an analyst call.
He further noted: “I dare say that the segment probably has around 60 to 70% of the profit pool of the premium segment, so that is the second leg of the strategy, to launch in that segment, and clearly Harley is an iconic brand and the work is going on in full swing on that”.
He was replying to a query on the road ahead for Harley bikes in the country.
In October last year, Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson announced a partnership for the Indian market.
According to the licensing pact, HeroMotoCorp has taken over the exclusive distribution rights of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, parts and merchandise in India after the iconic American motorcycle maker pulled out of the Indian market.
Earlier this year, Hero MotoCorp initiated the booking process for 13 Harley-Davidson models, which are priced between ₹10 lakh and ₹35 lakh (ex-showroom).
Around 100 Harley-Davidson bikes, constituting the first batch assigned to the Indian market this year, have been completely pre-booked.
Earlier this month, Hero MotoCorp commenced bookings for the next batch of Harley-Davidson adventure tourer bike ‘Pan America’ 1250 after the first lot completely sold out.
Hero MotoCorp expects the tie-up with Harley-Davidson would help it accelerate its presence in the premium bike segment where it aims to establish a complete portfolio cutting across segments and engine capacities.
The company, which is the leader in the budget bike segment (100-110cc), is also in the process of developing electric two-wheelers for both mass and premium segments.
He added that a product in partnership with Gogoro is expected to hit the market during the later part of the next year.
Hero and Gogoro Inc, which is a Taiwanese EV company with the world’s largest battery-swapping network, announced a partnership earlier this year.