Hero MotoCorp wants to boost sales in other countries and wants to be a global company. It doesn’t want to rely on the Indian market alone although it rules the 2-wheeler industry since a long time.
From ‘Desh Ki Dhadkan” to ‘Videsh Ki Dhadkan’, Hero MotoCorp is seeing a surge in exports thanks to entry in new countries. Post its split with long time partner Honda, Hero has gone ahead and entered 18 new countries, taking its presence to 22 countries from just four in 2012. With a target of bringing 10% sales from outside India, Hero wants to be a global company and not just focussed on the Indian market. Not only is Hero the number one two-wheeler company in India, it’s also the world’s largest 2-wheeler maker by volumes.
To ensure it stays number one, Hero has been betting big on exports and will enter the Colombian market later this month, launching six bikes including the Hunk and Karizma ZMR. The Splendor maker has presence in Colombia but under the ‘Hero Honda’ brand name, with 120 outlets presently, the same will be expanded to 150 dealership by late next year. Hero has been offering a 5-year warranty on its bikes which is a first in most countries it has entered recently. Among all the 22 countries, it’s Sri Lanka where Hero is doing extremely well while outside of Asia, the African market has shown a very positive response to Hero products.
Hero is setting-up a plant in Colombia and plans to have multiple factories around the globe, thereby preventing higher taxation on imported vehicles. Besides Colombia, Hero will also set-up a manufacturing facility in Bangladesh while in Africa, it will have multiple assembly plants, importing bikes via the CKD route from India. With concentration on emerging markets currently, Hero does plan to enter Europe and the US next year, launching the HX250R quarter-litre bike which has seen a positive response from motorcycle enthusiasts.
