New Delhi. If we look at the 90s, it will be clear that at that time scooter was the only ride for the common man. Bikes used to be owned only by a few rich and special people, but Japanese automobile company Honda and Indian company Hero jointly established Hero Honda to make this special thing a common man’s style. The best selling bike of this company has been Splendor, which even today enjoys the status of the most favorite bike of the common man of the country. After all, how did it start and what qualities made it everyone’s favorite?
In the 80s and 90s, cheap bikes were not available in the country. During that period, Hero Honda launched the first cheap bike CD 100 in the market in the year 1984. It got some success but not as much as the company thought. After waiting for 10 years, the company finally changed the name of CD100 to Splendor and launched its updated version in the market in the year 1994.
Hero Honda launched its first bike CD 100 in 1984.
How was this bike in the beginning
Hero Honda’s Splendor bike was initially launched with a 97.2 cc engine, which was later upgraded to a 100 cc engine. The Splendor bike currently being sold in the market has a 113 cc engine. The price is in its place, because it is a bike that easily fits in the budget of the common man, but the real reason for its high selling price is the mileage of this bike, which is said to be around 65 kilometers per liter.
Design and look made me crazy
When Hero Honda launched Splendor, it had to compete with Suzuki Samurai and HD bikes present in the market. Therefore, the company worked a lot on its stylish look and engine power. Its look and design was presented different from all the bikes present in the market. Also, the affordable price and mileage of more than 50 kilometers made this bike a hit as soon as it came in the market. Strong built quality and low maintenance made this bike a huge success and within no time it started becoming a part of every common man’s family.
The company launched the first Splendor bike after 10 years in 1994.
Bike updated again after 10 years
10 years after launching Splendor, Hero Honda once again updated it in the year 2004 and launched it as Splendor Plus. Technically this bike was completely the same as the old Splendor, but more work was done on its design. Along with changing the look of the bike’s headlight, the company put alloy wheels in its wheels. Customers also accepted this very well and Splendor Plus started selling heavily.
New launch only after one year
The company had just launched Splendor Plus in the market when reports came that Indian customers now want a bike with more power. Hero Honda immediately worked on this and in the year 2005 itself launched Splendor Super, a bike with more power and mileage. A lot of work was also done on the look of this bike. The mileage of more than 50 with self-start technology and power of 125 cc engine soon made people crazy about this bike.
Hero launches upgraded bike Splendor i Smart.
Updated again in 2011
On one hand, Splendor Super was creating a stir in the market and was not allowing any bike in this segment to stand ahead of it in sales, while on the other hand, in the year 2011, the company once again updated Splendor Plus and launched Splendor Pro Plus. Technically, only self-start was included in this bike, but a lot of changes took place in its look and a different kind of splendor was presented to the customers. This was the last Splendor bike made in the joint venture of Hero and Honda. After this both the companies separated.
Splendor came again in 2015
After the separation of Hero and Honda, the rights of Splendor came into the hands of Hero and in the year 2015, this company launched another updated version of Splendor on its own. The name of this bike was Splendor i Smart. Although Splendor’s 97.2 cc engine was used for the first time in this bike, but the company used the smart technology that came with it. This technology automatically shuts down the engine as soon as the vehicle stops in a crowd and starts again as soon as the clutch is pressed. This I3S technology won the hearts of people by saving oil.
In 2022, Hero has launched the new age Splendor bike.
New age splendor coming in 2022
Hero had also launched a retro model to celebrate the 20th birthday of Splendor, in which a little more power was also given, but this bike could not become the choice of the common man. Finally in the year 2022, Hero launched Splendor X-Tech, which is called a new age bike. Premium features like real-time mileage assessment, digital display and Bluetooth connectivity were included in it. Its price was also kept at around Rs 90 thousand on-road, which soon made the customers crazy about it.
Tag: auto news, Hero MotoCorp, hero splendor
first published : December 27, 2024, 1:19 pm IST
