The Hindu Business Line : Hero Honda on the 4-wheeler bandwagon

NEW MODEL: (From right) Mr Brijmohan Lall, Chairman, Hero Honda Motors Ltd; Mr Pawan Munjal, Managing Director; Mr Anil Dua, Vice-President (Sales & Marketing); and Mr Toshiaki Nakagawa, Joint Managing Director, at the launch of the new 100cc Hero Honda CD Deluxe model in Mumbai on Friday. — Shashi Ashiwal

Mumbai , Dec. 1

Hero Honda, the largest motorcycle company in the country, is now eyeing the four-wheeler segment.

It is a natural transition from the two-wheeler to the four-wheeler segment, said Mr Pawan Munjal, Managing Director, Hero Honda Motors, at a news conference on Friday, adding that it is premature to go into specifics.

It is not clear which segment of the four-wheeler industry Hero Honda will get into; it could be the passenger car segment or the light commercial vehicle segment. Hero Honda may venture into the segment through a possible tie-up with a leading global auto major or on its own, the option lies with the company, said Mr Munjal.

The company's previous connection with any auto major leads back to its tie-up with BMW, but that too was for the two-wheeler business only.

New launches

The company has launched the new Hero Honda CD Dawn and Deluxe at Rs 31,900 and Rs 34,900 respectively. The new-look CD models have a new 100 cc engine that has been designed and developed keeping in mind consumer needs such as higher mileage and pulling power, low maintenance, powerful lights, while also considering comfort and safety factors, said officials of the company.

The CD series is a brand quite synonymous in the entry-level motorcycle segment. The brand has been in the market for the past 21 years.

With the launch of the new CD variants, the company intends to notch up a 20-25 per cent growth in the entry-level segment. Currently, it is selling 60,000 units on a monthly basis, said senior company officials.

The introduction of the CD variants is part of the eight-model launch that the company announced at the beginning of the year. It has launched six models including the CD variants. The remaining two would be in the premium range, said senior officials.

The company notched up sales of 2,80,000 units for the month of November. It had created a world record for the highest number of two-wheeler sales in a single month with sales of 5,30,000 units sold during the festive month of October.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Brewing low pressure in Bay `notified'

Thomas Cook to acquire TCI

New fund offers flood the market

DoT tightens norms for subscriber verification

Drop continues in oilseed sowing; pulses acreage up

Inflation rises to 5.45% on costlier minerals

`US-India taking a wise approach to bilateral trade engagement'

Forex reserves jump by $5.9 b in November

First cargo of crude from Sakhalin-1 arrives

Ranbaxy acquires South African firm for Rs 315 cr

No big deal on IT salary front

Hero Honda on the 4-wheeler bandwagon

One crore eggs to be shipped from down South to Patna

Nifty breaches 4,000-mark intra-day

Citibank opens biometric ATMs