Hero working on India's first hybrid scooter, low-cost bike

New Delhi: Hero MotoCorp will bring in new platforms and new technology offerings across its two-wheeler portfolio in the Auto Expo in February next year.

For now, consumers must satisfy themselves with refreshes of current products. Though the company unveiled 15 product refreshes today, you may want to watch out for the production model of India’s first hybrid scooter ‘Leap’ during the Expo. Also, there seems to be some movement on the low cost bike that Hero has been speaking of for some years.

Managing Director Pawan Munjal said that the Leap scooter would be showcased in February but there is no launch date for it as of now. The Leap is expected to run on both battery and petrol and from all available indications it should come strapped with rechargeable battery.

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The low-cost bike, Munjal said, will at least be a 100 cc product which would be priced below the lowest prices model from Hero at present, which is HF Dawn.

“We have been working on it for sometime. We don’t have an idea of its price yet but there won’t be a drastic reduction below the price of HF Dawn. This will not be less than 100cc……it should be product good enough for both domestic and export markets,” he said.

[caption id=“attachment_110875” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image[/caption]

Speaking to Firspost earlier, Munjal had said “more heads have joined us in developing this product as we have enlisted technology alliance partners. The utility low cost bike would be a product specifically targeted at the rural Indian markets whereas the ultra low cost product would be a different category. It is a myth that people like Erik Buell (one of Hero’s technology partners) work only on lifestyle or large cc bikes. All of my technology alliance partners are helping in the development of the ultra low cost motorcycle.” This product may not be showcased at the upcoming Auto Expo though.

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Answering questions on why the world’s largest two wheeler company has failed to come up with new platforms and completely new products in the more than two year period since its breakup with Honda Motor Company, Munjal said “12-18 months are not enough time for this….Auto Expo onwards new platforms will be unveiled”.

He said the target of 50 new products (including refreshes) is on track over the next three years. Senior VP Anil Dua said the company’s retail sales of two wheelers during the April-September period (which means actual sales from dealers to consumers) have risen 8% and he was expecting festival season sales to surpass last year’s performance. Last year, Hero sold 1.1 million units at the retail level.

The refreshes unveiled today include those for its volume model Splendor and Passion bikes as well as scooter model Pleasure.