Indian Motorcycles shortlists priority markets, confirms Victory Motorcycles for India

All set to inaugurate its Gurgaon showroom in March 2014, Indian Motorcycles, which rode into the India market this January, has identified Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai as priority retail markets.

Talking exclusively to Autocar Professional, Pankaj Dubey, managing director, Polaris India, said: “We have spotted Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai as the relevant markets as of now. We plan to open our Gurgaon showroom in March 2014, followed by one in Bangalore by Q3 of CY 2014 and one in Mumbai by December 2014-March 2015.”

Positioning itself at the top-end of the premium bike market, which as defined by SIAM as motorcycles with engine displacement of 1600cc and above, Indian Motorcycles will primarily battle it out with its traditional American rival, Harley-Davidson on Indian shores.

The firm had launched the Indian Chief Classic, the Indian Chief Vintage and the Indian Chieftain for Rs 26.5 lakh, Rs 29.5 lakh and Rs 33 lakh respectively (all ex-Delhi). All three bikes, imported as CBUs, are powered by the firm’s new Thunder Stroke air-cooled, fuel-injected, 1811cc powertrain.

A few known best-sellers in the 1600cc and above space are the Harley-Davidson’s 1690cc Fat Boy, Fat Boy Special and the Heritage Softail Classic (from its Softail family), the 1690cc Street Glide (from touring family), and the 1783cc Suzuki Intruder. Triumph’s 1699cc Thunderbird Storm and 2294cc Rocket III Roadster are another two latest CBU entrants in this upper segment.

Interestingly, while the Fat Boy’s retail pricing starts at Rs 14.99 lakh, the Heritage Softail Classic’s price begins at Rs 16.35 lakh, ex-Delhi, all thanks to the responsive CKD import decisions taken by the company in March last year.

Now with serious plans in place, Dubey plans to garner at least 10 percent of the market share of the 1600cc-and-above motorcycle segment in a year’s time. “Our aim is to sell nearly 20-30 units in a year. We have big plans for the future,” says Dubey, who is excited with the response on the big-capacity motorcycles. Without disclosing the timeline, he confirmed that “Victory Motorcycles is also slated to come to this market in the future.”

According to SIAM data, cumulative sales of big bikes (800cc and above) between April 2013 to January 2014 accounted for 1,709 units, which averages close to 2,000 units for a tough year (as against 2,500 units for a booming market). The data also reveals that a total of only 26 units of 1600cc-and-above motorcycles were sold during the same period.

Polaris Industries, which owns both the brands, is known for its range of specialised all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in India.

Photograph: Pankaj Dubey, managing director, Polaris India, with the Indian Motorcycles product range.