One of the popular names in powersports, Polaris Industries, has made an official entry into Indian market with the launch of the Polaris ATVs, Polaris Ranger RZR Side by Side vehicles and Snowmobiles. The US-based off-road vehicle-maker will import these vehicles as completely built units (CBUs) from its facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. But, it plans to set up an assembly facility within next five years as it looks to gain revenues of up to $ 400 million from the country by then.
Bennett Morgan (L), President and COO, Polaris Industries; Pankaj Dubey (on wheels), MD, Polaris India & Mike Dougherty, Vice-President, at launch function
Polaris India PVT Ltd., the fully-owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries, is looking to set up a research and development centre and introduce its high-end motorcycles in India in the next 3-5 years. It had earlier appointed former India Yamaha National Business Head Pankaj Dubey as the Managing Director.
“Polaris sees significant growth in the next five years and is targeting a USD 5 billion turnover globally. India is a long-term opportunity for Polaris and we are expecting sales between USD 100 million and USD 400 million from here by then,” Polaris Industries President and COO Bennett J Morgan said.
The head office of Polaris India Pvt Ltd is located in Jasola, New Delhi. There are 10 dealerships in India and bookings for their All Terrain Vehicles (ATV), Off-road Vehicles (ORV) and Snowmobiles are open from today. The first batch of vehicles will be delivered to customers from September onwards.
The Sportsman range of ATVs start from 455cc engines to 850cc engines and can seat one or two passengers depending on the model. All Polaris vehicles come with Active Decent Control for maintaining appropriate traction for all four wheels when it is descending a steep slope or gradient. Another standard feature is an Engine Braking System (EBS) which helps to slow down the engine speed of the vehicle and aid the brakes in slowing the vehicle down.
The Polaris Ranger starts with the 455cc motor it can also be had with a more powerful 760cc motor. The Ranger can seat anything between two passengers to six passengers depending on the model. The Ranger also comes with a convenient Electronic Power Steering (EPS). There is a Versitrac Turf rear differential to help power the rear wheels of the buggy. All wheel independent suspension, all-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox, tilt steering wheel are standard on the Ranger series.
The range topping Ranger RZR XP comes with 88 bhp and while that might not seem like much the high power to weight ratio of these agile and extremely capable off-roaders make them very peppy to drive. The Ranger series also has a useful rear cargo box for carrying supplies. The Ranger series has a maximum towing capacity of one tonne.
Apart from pure enthusiastic off-roading Polaris off-road vehicles can be used by the Defence Forces to access terrains without roads.
The Polaris range of off-road vehicles starts from Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and is available with Petrol, Diesel and Electric motors.The company will introduce its high-end motorcycles in the next 3-5 years.
