Hero MotoCorp Plans To Launch New Scooters, Bikes In Iran And Turkey

Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest two-wheeler maker is planning to launch new scooters and motorcycles in Iran and Turkey as part of its global expansion strategy. Talking about the company's global expansion plans, Hero said, "In the Middle East, the company plans to launch new products in scooters and entry and premium bike segments in the regional markets, including Turkey and Iran." In addition to that, the home-grown two-wheeler manufacturer is also working on increasing its presence in South Asia.

Hero MotoCorp aims at increasing its share in the 100 cc and 125 cc segment in South Asia, and for that company will use its manufacturing plant in Bangladesh, coupled with flexible manufacturing processes to improve its share in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Furthermore, with new product launches in premium segments scooters and motorcycles, Hero also hopes to see the company inch up its market share in Nepal and Sri Lanka in the coming year.

Currently, Hero MotoCorp sells two-wheelers in over 37 countries across the globe. Hero MotoCorp clocked total sales of 2,04,484 units of motorcycles and scooters in global markets during the year as compared to 1,82,117 units in 2016-17. Having said that, the highly price sensitive African market has posed a unique challenge in selling innovative and feature-rich products for the company.

In his message to shareholders in the company's Annual Report for 2017-18, Hero MotoCorp Chairman, MD and CEO Pawan Munjal said the firm is gearing up to ride the wave of ever-evolving global political dynamics, as it continues to expand its footprint. He said, "Amid all the global political and economic upheavals, we have chosen to stay the course and kept our commitment to all our global markets." Munjal further added, "Our sustained brand building across markets during the economic downturn has now begun to yield results, with double-digit growth in our global business in 2017-18."

The African countries, Hero says, do not have stringent regulations such as BS-IV, and that poses a unique challenge, as the market is highly price-sensitive, and not conducive to innovative and feature-rich products that are part of the company's portfolio. As for Latin America, the company said, the markets continue to be geared towards 125-150 cc bikes with the exception of Colombia. Few countries in the region cluster do not have any regulations while some have moved to Euro-3 emission norms. "Given the company's technological prowess, it is confident to deliver safe, fuel efficient and cost effective transport to customers," it said.