Hero MotoCorp to Export Two-wheelers to 20 new markets

Home grown auto manufacturer- Hero MotoCorp, which is already the No.1  two-wheeler manufacturer in the country and world, now revving up overseas expansion and plans to have presence in 20 new markets by March with at least four assembly operations globally.  The company, which is preparing to set up a manufacturing unit in Colombia to cater to the Latin American markets, will finalise a joint venture agreement within the first three months of this year.

"We have been intensifying our global market expansion. In the first quarter of 2014, we will enter Ethiopia, Turkey and Nicaragua in Central America. The short term goal is to enter 20 new markets by March-end," Hero MotoCorp Managing Director and CEO Pawan Munjal told PTI.  The company has already started dispatching vehicles to other new markets such as Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Egypt, Ecuador and Bangladesh.

"In Tanzania and Uganda, we will have local assemblies just as we have in Kenya. Similarly, in Bangladesh also we will have local assembly operations," Munjal said.  The assembly operations in Tanzania and Uganda are being set up, while the one in Bangladesh is expected to become operational later this year. Hero MotoCorp had started assembly operations at Nairobi in Kenya last year.

When asked about plans for Colombia, he said: "There is a requirement for us to do manufacturing to certain extent under the local regulations. We are in the process of finalising an agreement for a joint venture, which should happen in the first quarter of 2014."  While he did not disclose the details of the proposed JV, Munjal said the manufacturing plant in Colombia would be used to cater to other Latin American markets. In July, the company announced foray into the African continent with the launch of its brand and products in Kenya, followed by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.  In August, it announced plans to enter 50 new markets by 2020 with a target of 20 manufacturing facilities across the globe and an overall annual turnover of Rs 60,000 crore. In the fiscal ended March 31, 2013, the company's turnover was around Rs 24,000 crore.

It is targeting 10 per cent of its annual sales to come from export markets, at around one million units by 2017. Hero MotoCorp has set a cumulative sales target of 100 million units by 2020, having crossed the 50 million milestone last year.  So far this fiscal - April-December period - its sales stood at 46,56,433 units as against 45,48,232 units in the corresponding period last fiscal, up 2.37 per cent.

Source: PTI