India is inching closer to the adoption of stringent BS6 Emission norms with April 24, 2020, being the last date for sale and purchase of BS4 vehicles. Indian government fast-tracked the switch from BS4 to BS6 to regulate vehicular pollution in a space of just 3 years. Automotive manufacturers have been working around the clock to launch BS6 vehicles to comply with the new BS6 emission standards. Indian auto manufacturer like Bajaj has already replaced their whole BS4 pulsar model range with newer BS6 vehicles before the deadline. And now it is the turn of Hero MotoCorp which is believed to have discontinued the BS4 models of Hero Xpulse 200T, Xtreme and 200S in India.
The two-wheeler manufacturer has already updated its models like the Glamour FI, Passion Pro i3S and Splendor Pro i3S to BS6. In the second phase of transition, it is believed that Hero Xpulse 200T, Xtreme and 200S have been temporarily discontinued considering the fact that they are no longer listed on the company official website. There is no official word yet whether or not they would be converted to BS6 but for the time being due to low sale numbers we imagine them to be discontinued. Hero Xtreme 200S was launched less than a year ago and became the most affordable 200cc motorcycle that one could buy in India. While the Hero Xpulse 200T was launched in May 2019. Hero Xtreme 200R had a dismal performance as it recorded falling sales numbers in 2019. The motorcycle sold 2931 units in January that year which further dropped to just 347 units in October same year.
Coronavirus outbreak has affected the production facilities of almost all automotive manufacturers with Hero MotoCorp being one of them. The production halt might have delayed Hero's plans to launch BS6 compliant versions of Xpulse 200T, Xtreme 200R and 200S models. Once the situation normalizes, we will have a clear idea of what Hero MotoCorp's plans are for this particular model. Until then, it is a wait and watch policy.