Hero MotoCorp unveils new 110cc Maestro Edge and Duet scooters

In a bid to consolidate its growing market share in the Indian scooter market, Hero MotoCorp, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, has unveiled its two new 110cc scooters named the ‘Maestro Edge’ and ‘Duet’. 

Built on a completely new engine and chassis platform, both scooters are powered by the same 110-cc air-cooled, 4-stroke single cylinder OHC engine, producing a maximum power output of 8.31 bhp at 8,000 rpm and maximum torque of 8.3 Nm at 6,500 rpm.

The Maestro Edge boasts of several new features like twin parking lamp, remote fuel lid and seat opening and digi-analogue dashboard. The Maestro Edge made its global debut recently in Colombia (named Dash for that market), during the inauguration of Hero’s first overseas manufacturing facility. The Maestro Edge takes on the Honda Activa, TVS Jupiter, Yamaha Ray, Mahindra Gusto and the Suzuki  Let in its segment.

Meanwhile, the 110cc Duet comes with a metal body, and is designed for a wide spectrum of customers. Both scooters also feature multiple safety and convenience features including the side stand indicator, front luggage box, boot light and throttle position sensor.

The company claims a mileage of 63.8 km/litre for the Duet and 65.8 km/litre for the Maestro Edge.

The Maestro Edge will have a starting price of Rs 49,500 (ex-showroom Delhi) for the LX version and Rs 50,700 (ex-showroom Delhi) for the VX version. The scooter will be launched into the market on October 13th, on the first day of Navratra, to cash in on the rising footfalls during the festive season. Meanwhile, Hero Duet will also be available in two variants – VX and LX. 

Commenting on the launch, Pawan Munjal, chairman, managing director and CEO, Hero MotoCorp said: “With the unveiling of the Duet and Maestro Edge today, Hero has entered into the next phase of its exciting journey. It is a step towards the evolution of this iconic brand that has, for many years, personified reliability and efficiency. The introduction of Maestro Edge and Duet --developed in-house with our own technology while keeping the global customer in mind– is a significant milestone in our relentless endeavour to become a global mobility powerhouse.”

The scooters are making market entry within two years of being showcased at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, further reaffirming the company’s strong focus on developing new products that cater to a global audience, it said. The company’s current scooter capacity is over 1 million units and with the introduction of the new scooter models Hero is looking to further increase its share in the segment.

As per SIAM data, there has been a sharp increase in scooter sales in the last five years. The 2010-11 fiscal saw nearly 42% increase in scooter sales, the highest, compared to the 23% increase of motorcycle sales. Further the last fiscal of 2013-14 also saw a 23% rise in sales of scooters, while motorcycle sales grew a meagre 4%. Despite the declining industry statistics of motorcycles Pawan Munjal said that bikes continued to give Hero a good EBITDA. He further claimed that the company is working on bringing down costs in production, design, selling and marketing, which will help to improve margins EBITDA.  With Hero now reducing its technology dependence on foreign partners, its royalty payments on two-wheelers is also expected to come down going forward. 

Meanwhile Munjal also announced that Hero’s Jaipur manufacturing facility in Rajasthan will be inaugurated on January 14 next year and the Hero Centre of Global Innovation and R&D Centre will commence operations in Jaipur by December this year.  It will have around 600 engineers, innovators and designers as part of its staff.

Markus Braunsperger, CTO of Hero MotoCorp said the new  engine platform would be the basis for further upgrades and development of new engine variants. The R&D centre is also working on engines for new bikes as well as for the existing crop of bikes.