Hero MotoCorp has commenced its sales operations in Colombia with six motorcycles. It will sell these bikes through 120 sales outlets which will soon be extended to 150.
The bikes that are being sold in Colombia are the Splendor iSmart, Eco Deluxe, Passion Pro, Glamour, Hunk and the Karizma ZMR. Along with these bikes, Hero MotoCorp is offering four-year warranty, which is a first in the Colombian market. The company is also in the process of setting up a manufacturing plant in the region. This plant is spread over 17 acres of land at the Parque Sur Free Trade Zone in Vila Rica. It is expected to be operational by the middle of next year with an initial capacity of 78,000 units. This will go up to around 150,000 units by 2017-18.
“Colombia is one of the top two-wheelers markets in South America and therefore, it is going to play a significant role as we continue to expand our footprint in the region. We are currently building a manufacturing plant at Vila Rica in the Cauca province which will be operational by the middle of next year. In the meanwhile, we have today commenced sales of our bikes with a wide network of over 120 outlets spread across the country. Within a year’s time, we plan to expand this network to over 150 outlets. In the process of expansion and localisation, we will generate immense opportunities of direct and indirect employment, thereby contributing to the overall development of the economy of Colombia. Our vision is to provide convenient, fuel-efficient mobility, and we are confident our products will appeal to customers across different demography. Going forward, we will aim at making Colombia a base for expanding our operations to neighbouring countries in the region," said Pawan Munjal, managing director and CEO, Hero MotoCorp.
Hero MotoCorp is going aggressive with its global business. It has set a target of selling 1.2 million units by 2020. It also plans to have 20 manufacturing and assembly plants across the globe, with sales, in more than 50 countries by 2020. Other than Hero MotoCorp, Honda and Bajaj has been selling two-wheelers in Colombia since many years now.
