Hero MotoCorp surely must know something that other manufacturers don’t.  For the third successive month in 2012 Hero MotoCorp sold more than 5 lakh units, 5,28,290 to be precise (March 2012) as against 5, 15, 582 in March 2011.  Last year the company was still Hero Honda now it is Hero MotoCorp. So any doubts about the loss of the Honda surname doing damage have been laid to rest at least for now.  As compared to the previous financial year, sales of Hero MotoCorp grew by an impressive 15.4 percent this financial year.  15.4% does not seem much but when you take into consider the factor that Hero sells more vehicles than almost all of the competition put together that figure is hugely impressive.  And now that Hero is free of restrictions imposed on it by Honda, it has also decided to get into export markets, a news that cannot be all that good for other manufacturers.  However, it remains to be seen whether Hero can replicate the same success in the export markets.

Here is the full press release from Hero MotoCorp

Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL), the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has completed the first Financial Year (FY) since embarking on its solo journey, by establishing yet another industry benchmark. Hero MotoCorp today reported the highest-ever unit sales in a financial year, with record sales of 62,35,205 units of two-wheelers in the FY 2011-12. This translates to a growth of 15.4 per cent over the last financial year (FY 2010-11), when it had sold 54,02,444 units. In keeping with the trend over the past several months, Hero MotoCorp closed FY’12 with yet another month of five lakh-plus sales. The company sold 528,290 units in the month of March 2012. It had sold 5,15,852 units in the corresponding month in 2011.

Summing up the performance in the financial year, Mr. Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd said, “FY’12 has indeed been a defining year for us – action-packed and memorable. Having taken the bold decision to chart our own course, we not only managed to retain our leadership position, but actually improved on our earlier performance to further enhance our market share during the financial year. We excelled in every sphere of our activity – be it in new product launches, sales performance, or in our communication. We not only ensured a seamless transition of our brand identity, but also captured the imagination of the entire nation with our new campaign. Within a short span of time, we also put in place strategic alliances with key international partners in order to quickly scale up our in-house R&D capabilities.

“As we begin a new Financial Year (2012-13), the geographical boundary of our business is set to expand beyond our existing markets. We are set to leverage emerging opportunities in global markets such as in Africa and Latin/Central America by commencing exports to some of these new markets in the coming months. We have also been constantly gearing up to meet the ever-growing market demand for our products. While we are further augmenting capacity at our existing plants to seven million units, we will also be announcing new plants. With our strategic plans and innovative initiatives, we are well-poised to further build on our leadership position and drive growth in the industry,” Mr. Munjal added.

During the year, Hero MotoCorp forged alliances with the US-based Erik Buell Racing (EBR) and Austria-based AVL to quickly scale-up its own in-house R&D capabilities and engine technologies. Through the strategic partnership with EBR, Hero MotoCorp also made its debut in the exciting world of international motorcycle racing, by participating at the AMA Pro Racing National Guard Superbikes Championship in the US.

On the new product front, Hero MotoCorp launched two completely new models in addition to few refreshes and variants during the year. “Impulse” – the first Hero branded bike – introduced an entirely new segment in the Indian two-wheeler market – the “off-road on-road” segment. The company also launched a new 110cc scooter “Maestro”, further strengthening its steadily growing presence in the gearless scooter segment. During the Auto Expo in Delhi in January, Hero MotoCorp showcased a concept Hybrid scooter – “Leap”. It also unveiled an all-new 110cc Passion X Pro and a thrilling new 125cc bike, Ignitor – to be launched in the domestic market over the next few months.

In keeping with its trend of innovative brand-building initiatives, the company’s “Billion Voices” campaign, focusing on customer-generated content, has evoked unprecedented interest among fans. An extension of the highly-successful “Hum Main Hai Hero” campaign, the “Billion Voices” initiative has set a new benchmark in the field of innovative marketing communication.

 

Taking forward its association with sports, Hero MotoCorp sponsored the men’s and women’s hockey qualifying events for the London Olympics 2012. The event, titled “Hero FIH Road to London” and held in Delhi in February, saw the Indian men’s hockey team qualify for the London Olympics.

Hero MotoCorp received a slew of awards for its performance and products during the year. “Impulse”, the first Hero-branded motorcycle and the country’s first on-road-off-road bike, was adjudged the “Bike of the Year” at the ET Zigwheels Awards and BS Motoring Awards 2012. The trans-roader also won the “Motorcycle of the Year (up to 150 cc)” at the NDTV Car & Bike Awards 2012, at the ET Zigwheels Awards, and also at the Car India & Bike India Awards. Hero MotoCorp also received accolades for its highly-innovative rebranding initiative. This initiative won the CNBC Awaaz-Storyboard special commendation for “Effective Rebranding of a New Corporate Entity” at the CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards 2011. The company also won the “Most Recommended Two-Wheeler Brand of the Year” award at the same awards