Harley-Davidson's X440 May Pose A Real Challenge To Royal Enfield
The X440, priced at Rs 2.29 lakh ex-showroom, is the most affordable motorcycle from the iconic U.S. brand.
Harley-Davidson Inc, in collaboration with Hero MotoCorp Ltd., launched its most-affordable motorbike as it takes on Royal Enfield in India after having failed the first time.
The U.S. cruiser motorbike maker on Monday launched the X440 starting at Rs 2.29 lakh (ex-showroom). The price can go up to Rs 2.69 lakh for the top variant.
That compares with Royal Enfield Classic 350's starting price of Rs 1.93 lakh and the Hunter 350's Rs 1.5 lakh.
This is Harley-Davidson's second coming in India after the maker of Fat Boy exited in 2021 as it failed to draw buyers for its high-powered motorbikes. Now, it has partnered with Hero MotoCorp to take a shot at the 250cc to 500cc segment in the middleweight category, where Royal Enfield dominates with over 90% share.
Affordable products from global brands may dent Eicher Motors' aspiration to gain significant market share in the global mid-sized market, Dolat Capital said in a report.
Along with the Royal Enfield's range of bikes, X440 will compete with Bajaj Auto Ltd.-Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.'s Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X, both of which will be launched in India on Wednesday.
In India, Harley-Davidson motorcycles currently start with a price of Rs 17.49 lakh for the 975cc Nightster, while Triumph's Trident 660 roadster starts at Rs 8.12 lakh.
The Harley-Davidson X440's tank (Photo: Company website)
"We believe that the premium motorcycle market, above 250cc, will continue to grow at a 9-10% CAGR over FY23-30F, much faster than 5-6% CAGR for the overall motorcycle industry," Nomura said in a recent report.
It is estimated at 25% of the overall motorcycle market.
Both Triumph Motorcycles and Harley-Davidson are stronger brands so stronger initial pull is expected and the market may have space for two to three players as consumers want more choices, the brokerage said.
(Photo: Company website)
Bajaj Auto will manufacture the Triumph motorcycles at its new Chakan-2 plant in Maharashtra, while Hero MotoCorp will make the Harley-Davidson's in its Neemrana, Rajasthan facility.
This is not the first time that Royal Enfield's dominance is being challenged. Others have tried before but ran into troubles along the road. But this time, Eicher Motors Ltd.-owned company is staring at a mighty challenge in this mix of local affordability and global iconic brands that were inaccessible to a bulk of Indian consumers till date.
Shares of Eicher Motors were trading 5.83% lower compared with a 0.49% rise in the benchmark Nifty 50 at 1:30 p.m.
