By the end of this month, Hero MotoCorp will have dropped the Hero Honda badge from its entire range of vehicles, and will be named only Hero henceforth. Post break-up of the joint venture with the Honda group, the vehicles continued to wear the Hero Honda badge. Although the company could have retained the Hero Honda brand name up to 2014, Hero MotoCorp decided to go solo in the market, a year after its creation. Of the existing range of vehicles from the former brand Hero Honda, the first model to have got the Hero badge was the company’s best-seller bike Splendor in April, this year. Gradually, all models to follow pursuit by month-end.
There are three models which were launched after the firm announced its new brand identity as Hero last year in London. These are the Impulse, Maestro and the Ignitor, and these will sport the Hero badge on them. The success of Maestro has prompted them to take this decision two years ahead of the schedule. The company also plans to expand its scooter production capacity to 60,000 units a month. The market leader in the 125cc bikes segment, Hero, has placed it’s fourth vehicle in the segment through the Ignitor. There are also plans of increasing the production of the 125cc bikes to 75,000 units a month.
The Expansion plans are the result of the increased demand for the company’s vehicles in the Indian market. Although the 2-wheeler market has seen a slight decline last month, Hero remains bullish. The company witnessed an increase of 18.27 percent in the scooter sales for the April-August period, this fiscal year. Last month, 45,000 units of the Maestro were sold. Looking ahead at the festive season, Hero MotoCorp has lined up new launches like the Pasion xPro, which was showcased earlier this year.
Source – EconomicTimes
