Hero MotoCorp makes 50 millionth bike, announces future plans

Hero has announced a production milestone: with 50 million units produced, Hero has become the first Indian 2-wheeler company to achieve this level of production. The 50 millionth bike that rolled out was the 'Xtreme'.

Hero MotoCorp plans to launch 12 new models over the next two quarters, in line with an increasingly competitive landscape. During the tenure of its joint venture with Honda, Hero boasted of a 2-wheeler market share of over 50 percent. The company is looking at launching 12 new products utilising existing platforms in the next two quarters. The Karizma upgrade is also part of this product offensive. Hero says that they have already developed an all-new 250cc engine, which will power the next-generation Karizma due for a launch somewhere around this time in 2014. There is also talk of Hero developing their own 100 and 110cc engines apart from the aforementioned 250. We believe the impending Karizma upgrade to be just a face-lift with a stepped-up pillion seat and new graphics.

Pawan Munjal with the 50 millionth motorcycle, the Extreme

The company currently has a global presence in 10 countries. It aims to increase that global footprint to 50 countries by 2020. "As the New Hero shifts gears, it rides into new terrains and new time-zones spanning more than 50 countries - from Brazil to Philippines; from Nigeria to Argentina," said Hero.

Also by 2020, Hero has plans to set up 20 manufacturing facilities and assembly plants globally, and sell a massive 100 million motorcycles by 2020. A state-of-the-art Global Parts Centre (GPC) at Neemrana, Rajasthan, is also in the pipeline as a support structure to Hero's expanding dealership network. Last year, Hero had announced an investment of Rs 2,500 crore to improve production and R&D ability.

Hero MotoCorp Managing Director and CEO, Pawan Munjal, also spoke of the 'Leap 20' Project. "Our goal is two-fold, to bring high levels of innovation and creativity across our entire supply chain, and to partner with our suppliers to drive significant improvements in our cost structure. At the same time, we will raise the bar even higher on product quality and reliability," he said.