Hero is likely to present multiple premium motorcycles in the 151-300cc segment in the remaining 8-9 months of FY27 in the Indian market
Hero MotoCorp, encashing the recent ‘premiumisation’ trend in the motorcycle segment, will launch new models in the 150-300cc category in the Indian market. The company will roll out multiple premium bikes in FY27 and out of which a few will be co-developed with Harley-Davidson. We had earlier reported to you that several other leading two-wheeler brands such as Honda, Yamaha and Bajaj are also readying new motorcycles for the sub-350cc segment and they will go on sale in the coming 6-8 months in the Indian market.
In its annual report, Hero cited the sub-350cc segment of motorcycles as the two-wheeler industry’s ‘sweet spot’ and hence, it aims to introduce multiple new models in this category in the next few months. We strongly believe that Karizma XMR 250 will be the first premium motorcycle from the brand to hit the Indian roads as it has been nearly a couple of years since the fully-faired sportsbike made its global debut at the EICMA 2024.
The premium motorcycle segment achieved a YoY growth of 18 percent in FY26 as it outpaced the whole two-wheeler industry. The customer sentiment has largely drifted towards premium models post COVID-19 due to higher incomes. If the trend continues at this pace, the premium motorcycles could command a healthy market share of 22 percent by 2030 in the two-wheeler industry.
The 151-300cc motorcycle segment has attracted the most number of buyers due to the advanced connectivity features, superior performance and aggressive pricing. The recent GST overhaul by the Indian government, where the bikes with engine capacity below 350cc were taxed at 18 percent, down from 28 percent, made these models cheaper than ever and hence, a lot of customers leveraged this opportunity by opting for these premium motorcycles.
After the discontinuation of the Mavrick 440, the Xtreme 250R is the biggest Hero bike in terms of engine displacement as it carries a 249cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine with top power of 29.6 bhp and peak torque of 25 Nm. This engine will be shared with the upcoming Karizma XMR 250 which will directly rival Suzuki Gixxer 250 in our country.
Notably, Hero’s conspicuous absence from the 350cc segment where the rival brands such as Royal Enfield, Jawa-Yezdi and Honda retail multiple motorcycles, makes it even more obvious that it will soon foray into this category. The company could downsize the 440cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine to 350cc and introduce new models with this powertrain to enjoy the benefits of lower GST while making its presence felt in the most popular category in the premium segment.
