Work in full swing to introduce retro-styled Harley-Davidson: Hero MotoCorp

NEW DELHI: Leading two-wheeler 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 US 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 CFO Niranjan Gupta said in an analyst call.

He further noted: “I dare say that the segment probably has around 60 to 70 per cent 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.

As per 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.