Indian Motorcycle Is Upbeat About Its Future In India

Indian Motorcycle to grow at 40-50 percent in 2018 in India.

Published: Tuesday, November 28, 2017, 19:23 [IST]

Amercian bike maker Indian Motorcycle expects a smoother ride after a tough 2017 in India. The company is upbeat about 2018 with new products and improved market environment.

The company is a wholly-owned division of Polaris Industries, it is present in the 1,200cc and above superbike segment in the country. Indian Motorcycle sells nine models, including the newly launched Scout Bobber.

Indian Motorcycles Expects To Grow 40-50 Percent In 2018 In India

"In 2018 we are looking at 40-50 percent growth over 2016. It'll be much higher compared to 2017, almost 100 percent because this year has been a very challenging year for us and the industry because of so many changes," Polaris India Country Head and Managing Director Pankaj Dubey told PTI.

He added that the year 2017 has been tough owing to the impact of demonetisation, conversion from BS-III to BS-IV emission norms and the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST).

"The challenges of BS-III stock inventory and doing away them had an impact financially on the entire industry," Dubey added.

On GST, he added that the disallowed taxes and double taxation had an impact on the models but "it has all been accounted for now, and we don't have any issue post-GST".

Looking forward to 2018, he said, "The impact of various external and internal reasons has stabilised now. We feel now we are on a good platform, and we expect 2018 to be a good year."

Indian Motorcycles will continue to launch all the international models in India as and when they are launched in the global markets to gain more market share in India. The company has around 5 percent share of the market segment in which it is present.

Also, when asked about assembling Indian Motorcycles in the country, he ruled out any immediate plans, although it will try to be competitive regarding pricing with rivals such as Harley Davidson and Triumph.

"Our strategy is that we are keeping the negligible margin on our products so that we gain the market in India and give customer high-quality global product made in the US. We will still sell at a premium over the competition," Dubey said.