Hero Motors eyes 5% of global bicycle biz by 2015

Diversified business entity Hero Motors today said it is aiming to double the size of its business by 2015, targetting 5% of the total cycles market in the world by then.

"At present we make 19,000 cycles every day, which means 5.5 million every year...By 2015, we want to double the business that will account for 5% of global bicycle market," Hero Motors Managing Director Pankaj Munjal said.

By 2015, the global cycle market is expected to be $77.7 billion, he added.

"In the last three years we have invested Rs 600 crore in our business," Munjal said.

Hero Cycles is the flagship of the Hero Motors group, which also has significant presence in auto components sector through various group companies.

Hero Motors today announced association with F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan and his Formula One team.

The company is sponsoring Karthikeyan and his team for the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix to be held in India in October this year.

Munjal did not divulge the sponsorship deal size but said: "(F1) Grand Prix is an expensive property".

Asked about the rationale behind the company's association with the F1 racer, Munjal said: "We have primarily been a business-to-business B2B company in the past, but now we are becoming a B2C company".

"Now is the right time to come into the mass media... going ahead we will launch new brands and products in the high end segment," he added.