The Hindu : Business : Hero Honda forays into scooter segment

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Thursday, Oct 06, 2005

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Business

Hero Honda forays into scooter segment

Special Correspondent

To launch Pleasure scooter and Achiever bike next month

NEW DELHI: In a major step forward to complete its portfolio of offerings for the premium segment, two-wheeler major, Hero Honda, on Wednesday announced its much speculated entry into the scooter manufacturing arena. `Pleasure', the first scooter offering from the company, will hit the market by mid-November.

Simultaneously, the company, he said, would launch a 149.1-cc motorcycle named `Achiever'.

Focus on non-urban areas

Cashing in on the impressive growth witnessed in the scooter segment in the recent past, Hero Honda is hopeful that `Pleasure' would be able to carve out a place for itself in the industry and contribute towards its further growth, Managing Director, Pawan Munjal, said while going public with the company's new offerings. While asserting that the two-wheeler major is confident of selling about one lakh scooters from December 2005 to December 2006, he declined to comment on the 102-cc scooter's price saying that it would be announced at the time of launch.

"The scooter would be manufactured at the company's Gurgaon plant and production of the four-stroke scooter would be done according to market demand," Mr. Munjal said adding that the group through the scooter was eyeing at one-million customer base in the scooter market that existed in non-urban and new semi-urban centres.

The scooter was especially designed as per the requirements of women. Lesser weight, self-start and new "tuff up tube" technology, which offers immediate remedy in case of tyre puncture, would suit female riders, he said.

On the mileage of `Pleasure', Hero Honda Motors Chairman, Brijmohan Lall Munjal, said "on road, it will be 50 plus km per litre... and for Achiever it is between 55 to 60 km per litre."

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