Hero to expand its premium portfolio

livemint.com:

Hero MotoCorp, which has a strong presence in the commuter or entry-level motorcycle segment, is swiftly expanding its presence in the premium segment of motorcycles up to 440cc, said chief executive Niranjan Gupta. On Tuesday, Hero reintroduced its Karizma series with the Karizma XMR 210, priced at ₹1.70 lakh ex-showroom. It comes on the heels of the Harley Davidson X440, developed indigenously as part of its joint venture with Harley Davidson.

India’s two-wheeler market can be divided into two segments: entry-level and executive category (under 125cc) and the thriving premium motorcycle segment (above 125cc), which is growing at twice the pace. “Launching the Karizma is clearly a part of the premium strategy that we have outlined and launched three premium products in quick succession. Our strategy is to rapidly build a whole portfolio of premium products because you can only win in premium if you have a whole portfolio," he added.

“This is our single minded focus. You saw us launching the X440, which is 440cc in a different segment. Today, we are launching a 210cc motorcycle.

We have the Xtreme and XPulse. We will also see a little more excitement in the coming quarter. We are progressing extremely well in building a portfolio and ensuring each products being launched has some best-in-class and first-in-class features along with prices that act as a sweetener.

We are super confident about accelerating this journey in premium segment," Gupta said. Hero will also have to battle intense competition to win in the premium segment, however, as rivals like Royal Enfield, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company also ramp up offerings in the segment. “If we didn’t have ambition (to succeed in this segment), we would not have been