The company also officially launched 14 models of Hero two-wheelers on the day. "Though those bikes were already available in the market under the brand name of Hero Honda, now they would be sold under the brand of Hero," Pawan Munjal, managing director and chief executive officer of Hero MotoCorp.[break]
The Hero two-wheelers launched on the day include brands of different categories. In the entry-level segment, the company has introduced HF Deluxe and HF Dawn, while in the deluxe segment, customers can go for Splendor Pro, Splendor NXG, Super Splendor, Glamour and Passion Pro.
Karizma ZMR, Hunk, Xtreme and Achiever have been launched as Hero´s premium bikes, while in the scooter segment, Pleasure was launched.
Hero MotoCorp also announced its partnership with Nepal General Marketing (NGM), going by which NGM would henceforth serve as the authorized distributor of Hero MotoCorp´s two-wheelers in Nepal. So far, Syakar Trading Company was distributor of Hero Honda.
The products of Hero would now be distributed through a network of more than 70 outlets of NGM spread across the country. The NGM also disclosed a plan of adding 30 new outlets within a year.
Launching Hero in the market, Munjal said Hero MotoCorp aims to provide convenient and fuel-efficient mobility to every customer with a wide range of products. "We are confident our products will appeal all customers across a wide price spectrum and create a new benchmark of mass mobility in Nepal"" added Munjal.
During the program Munjal also launched the Hero Anthem -- a TV commercial in Nepali.
Hero MotoCorp has alliances with the US-based Erik Buell Racing (EBR) for high-cc bikes, Austria-based AVL for engine technologies and Itlaian two-wheeler designing firm Engibes Engineering for designs. It has also been scaling up its own in-house research and development capabilities.
"Nepal has been a very important market for us, and we always had a loyal customer base in Nepal. Our market share in Nepal has been steady at around 31 percent since few years. With the introduction of new products, we are hopeful the market share will go up," said Anil Dua, senior vice president- sales, marketing and consumer care of Hero MotoCorp.
After the launch of Hero in Sri Lanka and Nepal, Munjal said Hero MotoCorp would soon commence its exports to Africa and Latin America in order to achieve its objective of generating 10 percent of its total volumes from international business in the five years.
According to the company, Hero reported its highest-ever sales of over 6.2 million two-wheelers in the year 2011/12.
"As we introduced the brand just today, we are yet to fix the prices of Hero bikes," said Abheek Jyoti, chairman of NGM. Nonetheless, he said the company will provide special offers to the customers for the upcoming Dashain and Tihar.
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