Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, will cross 100 million two-wheeler sales milestone on 21st January
Last year was a difficult one for the Indian automobile industry, but thankfully, things seem to be back on track now. Many auto manufacturers have had a strong revival in terms of sales, and some are even preparing to set records! Hero MotoCorp has announced an online event, on 21st January 2021, to commemorate crossing a cumulative sales figure of 100 million two-wheelers, setting a new world record.
The announcement of the event today by Hero marks the completion of 37 years of the company. Formerly known as Hero Honda, the company was founded on 19th January 1984 as a joint venture between Hero Cycles and Japanese manufacturer Honda. In 2011, the name was changed to Hero Motocorp, after the JV came to an end.
Hero had declared that they were gunning for the aforementioned world record back in July of last year. Pawan Munjal, Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, was quoted saying: “The continuous expansion of our geographic footprint over the past five years to more than 40 countries now creates a platform to build scale beyond India.”
“We are on the cusp of creating yet another world record, a historic milestone of 100 million motorcycles and scooters in cumulative sales in FY21”, Munjal added. Hero’s largest chunk of sales comes from rural markets of India, with small-capacity commuter bikes leading the sales charts.
Hero, however, is planning to launch a few new motorcycles in the premium segment as well soon. Currently, the company only has three models larger than 150cc – Xtreme 160R, Xtreme 200S, and Xpulse 200 – with Xpulse 200T slated to arrive this year. Apart from that, there have been speculations about an upcoming ADV, which could have a 300+ cc engine.
Last year, Hero struck a deal with Harley-Davidson to develop and manufacture the latter’s bikes in India. Not only that, but Hero will be responsible for handling the entirety of H-D’s operations in India. This partnership is expected to be mutually beneficial to both brands, allowing Harley-Davidson to improve sales in India, while simultaneously helping Hero penetrate the premium motorcycle segment.