Hero Harley-Davidson Partnership To Catapult Hero Into Premium Market

Hero MotoCorp believes its partnership with Harley-Davidson will help accelerate its presence in the premium motorcycle segment.

The top 2-wheeler manufacturer (in terms of volume) aims to establish a complete portfolio of premium bikes that cut across segments and engine capacities.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Hero MotoCorp, Niranjan Gupta, has stated that over the next few years the firm will launch more and more new models that will continue to expand the number of its premium offerings.

Gupta says the partnership will be mutually beneficial for both firms and adds that the “ride together in the premium segment will be definitely enriching”. At present, the brand sells the Xtreme 200S and Xpulse 200 as its top products.

Announced in October, the Hero Harley-Davidson partnership will see the Indian firm take care of sales and aftersales service of Harley motorcycles, apart from running dealerships, selling merchandise, among others.

The firm will also develop and sell a range of motorcycles under the American bikemaker’s name in India.

It is the second part, or the licensing agreement, that is expected to help Hero grow in the premium segment, for it will get the know-how of making premium motorcycles.

Further, Hero is also keeping an eye on the future and is in the process of developing electric 2-wheelers, the launch of which has been impacted by a family pact.

Its electric 2-wheelers will be for both mass and premium segments, unlike Ather Energy (in which Hero has 34.6 percent stake at present) which is focused on the premium scooter market.