Hero Will Revamp The Karizma Brand

By Sreejith

Updated: Saturday, October 1, 2016, 13:36 [IST]

Karizma was the first performance king after the two-stroke era. The motorcycle gave Hero Honda (now Hero) a lot of recognition as a premium bike manufacturer. Back then, there were a lot of endless debates on Karizma vs Pulsar 220.

But in recent year, Hero Karizma has become one of the biggest flops in the Indian market. The design introduced in 2014 was EBR-inspired version. The sales figures of the Karizma (both R and ZMR) from April to August 2016 is only 242 units. In 2015, Hero only managed to sell 2,328 units and arch rival Pulsar 220 does much more than this every single month.

Hero sold only 333 units of both Karizma variants in August 2015. Due to poor sales, there were rumours stating that Hero will axe the Karizma brand. In a recent interview with bikeadvice.in, Mr Markus Braunsperger, Chief Technology Officer at Hero MotoCorp said they will not let the Karizma brand die.

He added, "I completely understand. To see it suffering... (nods head) No doubt it is a little bit like the premium segment where we really have been doing well. Entering into the segment first. Having received great market success. This is what we are focusing as well. To be there. Be acknowledged and valued by the customers. The brand will be there. The brand has to be there, no doubt. But give us some time. We will make the Karizma fans happy as well."