Panaji: After claiming 60 per cent of the superbikes' market in India, Harley Davidson India today said it expects to continue its growth story in the coming financial year, fuelled by demand in tier II cities.
"Harley Davidson India has currently 26 dealership across the country which would be enhanced by adding four new to them expanding our footprints particularly in tier II cities," Harley Davidson India director (Marketing and Communications) Pallavi Singh told PTI on the sidelines of Harley Owners Group (HOG) rally here today.
Singh said the current financial year was "great", while the next financial year is expected to retain the pace of the growth, largely depending on the expansion of footprints in tier II cities, which have shown a great potential for superbikes.
"The most important thing for us is customer experience and when we say that the idea is to expand our footprints," said Singh, who has been a part of founding team at Harley-Davidson India since its inception in 2009.
While superbikes are no novice for the urban riders, the company has claimed to have made inroads in smaller towns. "Our focus is more on tier II markets, there is a great passion from riders.
We look at opening new dealership by looking at current strength of Harley riders in the city," she said. She said for calendar year 2016, a total of 4,241 units were sold across the country, a rate which will be further boosted in the current year.
"For next financial year, our intent is to grow in the market. The intent is to grow the community..so this year we intend to grow at the rate we have never grown before," she said.
Talking about the market after the introduction of its flagship 'Street' motorcycles, Singh said the range has opened the gate of demand for the company. "'Street' has opened lot of new demand to us," she said, adding, "if there is a need we are always open for doing
new things."
She said their brand has found encouraging response in tier II cities and the immense potential in such markets will result in rising sales of Harley Davidson motorcycles. "It is pleasing to see that in tier II cities there is a lot of passion for Harley riding. Because Harley is new in tier II cities it is taking time to pick up, but yes there is immense potential which will result into sales going forward," she said.
"But right now the big chunk of sales is coming from big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh," she added. About Harley Owners Group (HOG), she said it is about the love of riding.
"In India, the HOG has been in existence for the past five years. Ever since its formation in 2010, the group is growing bigger each year inspiring more and more riders to join in," she said.
