According to The Economic Times, India’s premier financial newspaper, Hero MotoCorp is working on a 250cc sport bike, in conjunction with Erik Buell Racing. You may recall that Hero and EBR have already agreed to a technical partnership, which also saw the Indian motorcycle manufacturer become Erik Buell Racing’s title sponsor in the AMA Pro Racing Superbike series.
After its break up with Honda in the Hero Honda relationship, Hero MotoCorp has been relying on other firms for its technical developments. The Economic Times suggests the same can be said for this 250cc sport bike, with EBR handling the development of the machine, while Hero handles the business end of things, namely the quarter-liter’s production and distribution.
Perhaps most interesting aspect from this report is that Hero engineers are currently working directly in the United States with Erik Buell Racing, with the project being personally overseen by Hero CEO Pawan Munjal back in India. Expected to debut in February 2014, the 250cc sport bike will come to the Indian market, as well as other markets overseas, in what a source told The Economic Times was an “ambitious international business plan” for global penetration.
How ambitious is that plan, and does it include the United States? Only time will tell, but no matter which market the 250cc sport bike debuts in, it will go up against some stiff competition from the Japanese and European manufacturers. Furthermore, the pink elephant in the room is whether Buell-loyal Americans will show the same fervor for EBR products, as they have in the past, if the machines being developed by the “American” company are being built in India. Interesting stuff.
Source: The Economic Times
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