NEW DELHI, Oct 22: The country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp plans to enter three new countries — Argentina, Mexico and Nigeria — by the end of this year as it looks to widen footprint across global markets.
The company is also eyeing to sell a total of 2.5 lakh units in the international market this fiscal, up 25 per cent, from 2 lakh units in the previous fiscal.
“We are looking to enter Argentina, Mexico and Nigeria by the end of this year,” Hero MotoCorp Senior Vice-President and CFO Ravi Sud said in an analyst call.
The cumulative size of motorcycle market in Nigeria, Mexico and Argentina is around 20 lakh two-wheeler units per annum.
Besides, the company aims to ramp up the production capacity at its Colombian facility to some 4,000 units a month, from 2,500-3,000 units a month currently.
Last month, Hero MotoCorp began operations at a new facility at Villa Rica in Colombia, its first plant outside India, which has been built at an investment of USD 70 million.
By 2020, the company aims to be in over 50 countries with 20 plus assembly facilities globally.
Currently, Hero MotoCorp sells its products in 24 countries, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Egypt and Turkey in Asia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia in South America, among others.
Hero has also established assembly units in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in East Africa through partnership with its local distributors.
When asked about the domestic motorcycle segment, which has been under a prolonged slump, Hero MotoCorp Head Marketing, Sales and Customer Care, Ashok Bhasin said the sales have been hit more in rural areas.
“Rural markets have been impacted more. We will have to see the market closely for the next 3-4 months. We expect a gradual recovery,” he added.
The overall motorcycle sales in India were down 4.06 per cent in April-September of 2015-16 at 53,64,391 units as against 55,91,328 units in the same period last fiscal.
Below-normal monsoon has impacted sales, especially in rural areas. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel