New Delhi: HMSI’s newly appointed President, CEO and Managing Director Atsushi Ogata said the company aims to bring in entry-level affordable products for rural areas while strengthening its mid-segment range (above 150cc) as well as super bike portfolio to cater to different set of customers.
The Japanese company, which dominates scooter segment in the country with products like Activa and Dio, is now looking to expand its footprint in rural areas with a new motorcycle which would sit below its CD 110 range, the company’s most affordable bike at the moment. The company’s focus on filling the gaps in its portfolio to acquire more customers stems from the underlying fact that with the implementation of BS-VI emission norms, profitability on each model has come down, leading to its review of each model line.
“This issue (dip in profitability) is not only for HMSI, (but) for the entire industry. So therefore, we plan to review model by model profitability and try to change model mix itself to have profitable model mix,” Ogata said. The review would not impact the current models, but will look at filling the gaps in the portfolio to acquire all kinds of new customers, he added.
He noted that the company currently lacks entry level motorcycle which could compete with the competitors. “Unfortunately, we do not have a strong product for rural areas, therefore definitely we need a model to acquire such kind of customers because Honda philosophy is to supply affordable products to customers. It is our responsibility to provide a product that people in rural areas can buy,” Ogata said.
Therefore, it is under study to develop such kind of model for entry, he added. “We don’t have actual product in this segment. Of course, we have CD 110 but it cannot penetrate such markets,” Ogata noted.
