Hero MotoCorp Plans a Sub - Rs 30,000 Bike

Hero MotoCorp is facing stiff competition from its former partner Honda. The top brass of Hero MotoCorp are now working to further increase their presence in Indian market. The company has started working on a subRs. 30,000 two-wheeler.This target looks quite difficult considering the manufacturer’s cheapest motorcycle in its portfolio is the Hero HF Deluxe, which is priced close to Rs. 40,000. 

During the inauguration of their latest R&D centre in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Pawan Munjal, Chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp said, “It has something path-breaking. Reducing (price) by Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 4,000 is not something  which is true innovation.” He also confirmed that the next product is in the conceptual stage at the moment, and the company needs to be a volume producer as the targeted population is huge. Comments like these clearly indicate that the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer understands the markets need and are ready to deliver. 

Ever since Hero and Honda parted ways in 2011, Honda has been on an expansion spree and is setting up new factories across the country. Hero on the other hand, has started developing in-house products. In fact, the company’s last two launches – the Hero Maestro Edge and the Duet were completely in-house developed products. 

Munjal has also confirmed that they have plans to set up a new technology center in Europe, which will help the company to understand (a)matured region where high-powered products are being sold. The company has also started developing bigger displacement motorcycles to cater to the growing demand for bigger motorcycles not just in India, but in western countries as well. According to the head of the Jaipur R&D center, Markus Braunsperger, “We need bigger-sized engines in our portfolio and work on this will be carried out at our R&D Centre. We will also be working on electric vehicles and hybrids. The idea is to have ground-up research or develop things from scratch.”