Polaris weighs local assembly of 'Indian' motorcycle brand

Polaris India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US-based off-road vehicle maker Polaris Industries, is exploring the possibility of assembling its iconic motorcycle brand 'Indian' in the country in 3-5 years.
The company, which retails off-road and all-terrain vehicles in India, forayed into the superbike segment with brand 'Indian' early this year and has opened three outlets, including one each in Gurgaon and Bengaluru.
"We are looking at a time horizon of about 3-5 years to assemble these bikes in India. Right now, the superbike industry is growing at a very rapid phase. We felt that it's right for us to give this iconic product to the market," Polaris India MD Pankaj Dubey told PTI after opening the third outlet in Chennai today.

It had launched two bikes in May.
Dubey said the superbike industry is growing at a rapid pace of 25 per cent plus CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) every year.
To a query on why it thought of bringing in 'Indian' when the superbike industry is getting crowded with the likes of Harley Davidson, Aprilia and Kawasaki, he said, "Indian is an iconic brand and this brand is America's first motorcycle. It is the chief of all bikes. That is how this is positioned."

"We have started expanding in a phase-wise manner across the country. We are opening now in Chennai. We will be expanding into Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the next three months."

The company would target customers in the age group of 35 years and plus.
"We do not see many first-time buyers. These are customers who are already into passionate biking. They already own some of our competitors' products. Most of the customers live in A and B cities," he said.
"The company is working on setting up 'experience centres' across the country where one can experience our products. We had some eight such centres in the country. Now, we are at 39 such centres. We want to take that to 200 in the next 3-5 years.