Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India to take on Royal Enfield

HMSI currently has two products – CB350 and CB350RS – in the mid-weight motorcycle segment. The company is targeting sales of 300,000 units per annum in the category in the next three years with the new portfolio of locally produced midsize motorcycles.

“Sooner or later we will also have our new line-up, with additional products (in our) portfolio. The number of models in mid CC segment will increase year by year. Surely (sales will go up to) to 3 lakh within 3 years. (That is) our internal target,” Atsushi Ogata, president, HMSI told ET in an exclusive interaction.

To expand reach, HMSI – which currently has around 70 Big Wing outlets bikes – will expand presence to 300 customer touch points in the next three years. The company is working to put in place 100 Big Wing outlets to cover top 50 UIO (units in operation) areas by the end of the ongoing financial year. HMSI aims to accelerate dealer expansion to cover the top 100 UIO areas in the next financial year.

“Our sales teams are working hard to utilize existing Big Wing dealers to consider the small branch concept in small towns as well. We have confidence to take Big Wing touch points in the next 3 years to 300”, Ogata said.

According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data, as many as 276,365 motorcycles with engine capacity of 250-500 cc were sold in the local market in the first seven months of this financial year, which is an increase of 4.2% compared to the year-ago period. Overall sales of motorcycles declined 1% to 5,369,358 units in the same period.

With sales of 244,964 units, Royal Enfield commanded 88.6% share in the category between April and October 2021. However, the company’s sales have been facing heat from competition with its market share falling 700 basis points over the year-ago period. Meanwhile, HMSI share in the segment has increased to 6.8% compared to 0.5% in Apr-Oct FY21.

While HMSI’s products are priced between Rs 1.89-1.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), Royal Enfield’s entry model Bullet 350 is priced upwards of Rs 1.38 lakh (ex-showroom). The company also has on offer BSVI-compliant versions of Classic 350 (priced upwards of Rs 1.84 lakh), Himalayan (priced upwards of Rs 2.10 lakh) and Meteor (priced upwards of Rs 1.98 lakh) in the segment.