When Hero MotoCorp launched its luxury retail chain — Hero Premia — with the opening of its flagship outlet in Calicut, Kerala, on October 20, 2023, it signalled a bold transformation. Fitted with upscale dark facades, cloud-based AR configurators, and dedicated lifestyle gear lounges, Premia was designed to reposition the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer from a 100-125-cc commuter player into a serious high-end motorcycle company, with bikes like the Harley-Davidson X440, Hero’s Mavrick 440, and later 210-250-cc bikes like the Karizma XMR and Xtreme 250R. Yet, as the network expands — there are 130 stores across 115 cities, as of July 2026 — Hero’s premium strategy faces a structural wall.
The most glaring setback is at the top of the lineup: the Mavrick 440, Hero’s flagship 440-cc roadster co-developed alongside Harley-Davidson, has been quietly delisted and removed from the company’s digital storefront. A former Hero employee confirmed that the model was quietly discontinued a few months ago following prolonged dispatch stagnation.
According to industry sales data, after posting muted volumes through FY25 (3,448 units), sales of the Mavrick 440 dwindled to just 14 units in FY26, before hitting zero in the April-June FY27 quarter. The Harley-Davidson X440 parked next to the Mavrick 440 in Premia stores increased sales from 10,515 units in FY25 to 14,361 units in FY26.
The Mavrick’s exit is not an isolated event, but appears to be a pattern across Hero’s high-end portfolio hosted at Premia outlets, which display models ranging from the Xtreme 160R, Xtreme 250R, and Karizma XMR to the XPulse series, Xoom 160, and Vida V2 Plus, alongside the Harley-Davidson X440.
Sales of the 210-cc Karizma XMR, for instance, dropped from 2,932 units in FY25 to just 233 units in FY26, and mere seven units in Q1FY27.
The Xtreme 250R did well in FY26, with sales of 3,851 units, but in Q1FY27 it has sold just 599 units. Designed to challenge quarter-litre streetfighters such Bajaj’s Pulsar range and TVS Apache, the Xtreme 250R hasn’t been able to generate interest among buyers.
“The core challenge for dealers operating high-outlay Premia outlets is that footfalls are almost entirely driven by the Harley-Davidson X440,” noted an industry insider closely tracking two-wheeler retail networks. “When buyers enter to spend `2 lakh or more, they gravitate towards the global badge of Harley, leaving Hero’s products aside.”
Brand experts attribute the struggle to a classic automotive dilemma: consumers resist crossing over into luxury tiers under a brand built on frugal commuting. “The Mavrick, Xtreme, and Karizma are very different imageries from the typical Hero imagery. Hero brand has grown too thin over its new, premium offerings,” said Harish Bijoor, brand-strategy expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults. “Brand elasticity is certainly a key issue. When you have offered for 20 long years a particular equity in the market, that equity has settled down.
You cannot try to stretch that very same equity onto a premium category. It’s extremely critical for us to remember the story of Toyota and Lexus — keep distance and you win, merge imageries and you lose.” Despite these retail challenges, Hero MotoCorp is doubling down on its Premia ambition. In its latest annual report, it confirmed plans to introduce premium models under both the Hero and Harley-Davidson banners in FY27. Yet, as Premia showrooms continue to expand, Hero faces a test: How to bridge the perception gap, because while Harley is flying out of Premia, Hero’s own premium products — both co-developed with Harley, and developed independently — are gathering dust.
