Will Harley-Hero’s Partnership Spice Up India’s 350cc Bike Market?
It was reported earlier that Harley-Davidson Inc., in its bid to crack India’s booming middleweight bike market, was planning to roll out a sub-500cc bike by 2021-22. But with Milwaukee-based company wrapping up its operations here, Royal Enfield was tipped to remain the undisputed leader in this segment with bestselling bikes such as Classic, Interceptor and now Meteor (which replaces Thunderbird). But now, there is a speculation that the flagship company of Eicher Motors may find a competitor in the next couple of years as a 350cc HD 350 might be zipping on Indian roads. The buzz got louder when homegrown bikemaker Hero MotoCorp recently got into a non-equity partnership with Harley to produce, sell and distribute Harley products in the domestic market.
A well-informed source told BW Businessworld that recent agreement marks Hero MotoCorp’s long-term plans to gain a strategic foothold in the super-premium 300-600 cc segment market. However, the same source maintained, “There is unlikely to be any ground -up product development by the partners as Harley has already joined hands with Chinese bikemaker Qianjiang Motorcycle Co to build its small capacity motorcycles for global markets. So, the development may be restricted to finetuning the product to suit local market conditions and the outsourcing the production to Hero completely.”
The global spokesperson of Harley-Davidson Motor Company, when contacted by BW Businessworld, maintained, “In regard to your question about a 350cc Harley-Davidson developed by Hero: We do not comment on rumors or speculation. Also, the agreement with Hero is specifically for products that will serve the India market.” Likewise, Hero MotoCorp spokesperson, when contacted by BW Businessworld, maintained. “We are unable to comment on any aspect beyond what we had shared in the official statement.”
“…. Hero MotoCorp will sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and sell Parts & Accessories and General Merchandise riding gear and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero’s existing dealership network in India,” Hero had stated in a statement earlier.
According to Avik Chattopadhyay, founder of Expereal, a brand consultant, “The partnership will give HD a second chance to continue in the Indian market, though at an arm's length. For Hero, it will be an unnecessary diversion from their core purpose of mass mobility. Their previous experiences with BMW and Buell stand testimony. I do not see Hero gaining from this partnership, either as a corporation or as a brand.”
Meanwhile, Royal Enfield affirmed that it is aiming to derive 20% of its global revenues from overseas markets in coming years “We continue to focus a lot on global market and take baby steps. It’s a long game we are playing in the international market,” Siddhartha Lal, managing director at parent Eicher Motors Ltd., said at a pre-launch media briefing for the Meteor 350.
According to the data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) motorcycles in the 251-500cc category reached an all-time high at 833,112 units in FY18. The volumes declined to 658,924 units in FY20, due to multiple economic headwinds. However, the numbers are expected to revive as the demand for premium and super premium bikes are seeing unprecedented growth in even tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
