Four new premium motorcycles are coming along the course of 2018 based on the 200cc platform and of them two are Xtreme 200R and Xpulse 200
Two-wheeler industry leader Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India are having the closest battle we have ever witnessed in the market in terms of sales numbers. While Hero does not want to make giant leaps into the premium motorcycle segment and continues to reply on mass segments, Honda has just sailed on in recent years with the increased demand for scooters.
It has been seven years since both companies parted one of the most successful partnerships ever and are battling tooth and nail for the leadership position in sales volume. The Japanese giant has come leaps and bounds and is responsible for Hero slipping in market share after having surged from 13 percent to 29 percent on its own.
Despite the commuter space accounting for more than 70 percent of market share, Hero has suffered from increased popularity of scooters and premium products, as Activa still plays the ace role for Honda amongst several other recently launched models. The high sales of scooters have prompted the gap to entry-level bikes by just 4 percent.
Hero retailed 7.6 million two-wheelers and kicked off current fiscal with 16 percent growth in April, giving a glimpse of yet another year with double-digit growth the highest possibility. Hero is not bad in scooter sales volume either as it is positioned third behind Hero and TVS.
The existing portfolio containing Pleasure, Maestro Edge and Duet will see expansion, as upgraded Duet 125 and Maestro Edge 125 are ready to be launched. The Xtreme 200R entry-level sporty naked as well as Xpulse 200 adventure motorcycle will give a perfect dose of how Hero will perform in the premium space as they are part of the quartet of launches scheduled for this year.
They are expected to help increase the premium segment market share of Hero which once stood at 15-16 percent. A fresh internet report suggests that four new premium motorcycles are coming along the course of 2018, based on the 200cc platform.
Hero will reportedly kick start its own trend of premium dealership outlets and brand merchandise stores, and will concentrate more on the 200-250 cc space the company once had a strong account on. Amidst having to make sure its portfolio sticks by soon-arriving BSVI norms, Hero is ramping up its manufacturing facilities and is seeking ways to expand into 50 international markets.
However, to achieve its vision of going past 10 million annual sales by the end of this decade, Hero’s transformation into bigger bike segments is very crucial. Whether the brand will live up to the task? Have your say below!
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