Hero MotoCorp has said that they will focus on sales in rural India to increase their annual sales which dropped by 2 percent last year for the first time since a decade. With tough competition from Japanese ex-partner Honda and a very healthly rate of growth of 37 percent since last year, Hero MotoCorp is trying to strengthen its hold in the villages by coming up with many innovative ideas like free health checkups and free bike service for existing customers.
Hero MotoCorp is India’s largest bike manufacturer and 45 percent of the sales come from the rural sector. No other bike company has such a popular standing in the Indian villages. Now with rising rural income and general agricultural output, the buying capacity of rural India has gone up. So to attract more and more customers to their showrooms, the Indian bike manufacturer has devised schemes like free bike service as well as free health checkup camps in over 1,00,000 villages across India
Many analysts support Hero MotoCorp’s view and say that focusing on rural India will help make up losses in urban sectors. As Hero has a much wider dealer and service network in villages as well as popularity compared to other bike brands, they should encash on the opportunity and try and increase sales. Hero MotoCorp bikes have been few of the most reliable and cost effective bikes with very low maintenance as well as very high fuel efficiency which is very important in this market.
