Hero to launch new 110cc family scooter to rival the Honda Activa

Having consolidated its pole position in the face of stiff competition, Hero MotoCorp wants to take the battle to its arch rival's stronghold. With scooter sales outpacing motorcycles in the domestic two-wheeler market, Hero MotoCorp has decided to expedite the launch of a slew of scooters, including a unisex scooter developed on a new platform that will be pitched against Honda's best-selling Activa. Hero's strategy is to quickly bring in new scooters and tap the stupendous growth in the sector, which at 21 per cent for the fiscal, makes it the fastest across segments in the Indian automotive market, according to two highly placed industry executives familiar with the development 

"Hero is aiming to cater to every customer segment and hence it wants to build an arsenal of scooters in the short to medium term and has expedited the launch of these new scooters to be launched ahead of its new motorcycles. This is a strategic call taken by the company," a top industry executive told ET on condition of anonymity. "Its trump card will be a 110-cc scooter developed on a new platform. Hero has been working on this project for some time, but had kept it under wraps and therefore, did not showcase the vehicle at the Auto Expo held at Greater Noida last year. The company is now likely to launch this model as early as the second quarter of this calendar year. Loaded with new features and designed for use by every member in a family, this scooter is going to be directly pitched against Honda's Activa, which is the market leader in this segment," he added. 

Hero, the world's largest two-wheeler maker by volume, has rapidly scaled up its R&D capabilities and has brought out new products with technological innovations such as the i3S technology in the Splendor iSmart. The i3S technology automatically shuts the engine during idling and turns it on again with a press of the clutch. The new scooter will launch an all-new platform in the industry. Designed to be aesthetically appealing to both males and females, the vehicle will come with an all-metal body - a feature absent in Maestro and Pleasure - Hero's two existing scooter models. While Pleasure is targeted at women, Maestro is a sturdy, masculine scooter aimed at men.