The new offering Glamour with better fuel-efficiency and high power.is expected to sell 35,000 to 40,000 units in a short period of time, Hero Honda chairman Brijmohan Lall and Atul Sobti, executive director (business operations), said.
Glamour, which is showcased as a premium segment bike, would help the company to consolidate its position in the fast growing deluxe segment, Lall said.
He said the company was launching the new model in South India, ahead of other markets, as the region contributed to 25 per cent of Hero Honda's business.
Glamour, which is the ninth model from Hero Honda stable, comes with a new 125 cc `Quantum Core' engine and flush-type lock on the fuel tank, a first-of-its-kind in the segment.
Sobti said the futuristic quantum Core engine was first introduced by Hero Honda in its 125 cc offering Super Splendor, launched earlier this year, which was specially developed for Indian customers.
Glamour sports a gen-next visor, which lends it a suitable persona and an aerodynamic look, further strengthened by the contemporary shape of multi-reflector winkers, said P S Sunder, head (marketing), Hero Honda.
Priced at Rs 45,000, Glamour comes with a three-year warranty. In the initial phase of the launch, Hero Honda is targeting the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, officials said.
Hero Honda Motors said it would soon take a decision on establishing its third manufacturing facility and hinted that the new plant may be located in south India, its biggest market.
Currently, Delhi-headquartered Hero Honda owns two plants, one each in Gurgaon and Dharuhera (both in Haryana) having a capacity to produce three million bikes per annum.
"The capacity is a constraint (for growth), chairman Brijmohan Lall said. "We will take a decision soon (on the new plant)," he said.
Asked whether the new facility would be located in South India, Atul Sobti, executive director (business operations), said South India was its biggest market with 25 per cent of the bike maker's business coming from the region. "We are leaders in all the four South Indian states," Sobti said.
The Indian two-wheeler market, with 65 million bikes and growing at a compounded annual rate of 12 per cent, is next only to China, officials said.
