Pawan Munjal's Covid mantra: every crisis is an opportunity, don't waste it

Says Hero MotoCorp had the best ever month of October since it started in 1985 with highest production, dispatch and sales in a day

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, put up a record performance by turning the challenge into an opportunity. 

“My mantra in the company was, don’t let this opportunity go to waste. Every challenge brings for me an opportunity,” said Pawan Munjal, chairman, managing director and chief executive officer, Hero MotoCorp, during the annual session and annual general meeting of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. 

Pointing to Hero’s performance, Munjal said, the company had the best ever month of October since it started in 1985 with the highest production in a day, highest dispatch in a day and highest sales in a day. In November too, Hero posted a double-digit growth. 

There are other examples of Hero’s resilience. “It was December 16, 2010, when we had the board meeting and announced that Hero and Honda had decided to separate. Ten years from today and now, Hero has continued to grow, has continued to be the largest player of motorcycles and scooters in the world,” said Munjal. 

“Hero has gone out and made technical arrangements with various different companies. And now, Hero has tied up with Harley. Lots have happened in the last 10 years,” he added.

 

Responding to a question on the outlook for 2021, Munjal said that he was optimistic that 2021 would be a good year for the country. However, he cautioned that while everyone wants to get into 2021, for now, the coronavirus would also be travelling into the new year.

“We haven’t got rid of the coronavirus. We’ve started to see the vaccine now - UK has started vaccination, US has started vaccination and early next week, Singapore will start; thereafter, country after country will follow soon. But this is going to be a process for some months,” Munjal said.

He also pointed out that a set of people want to get vaccinated and another set were against. “So will we get rid of this pandemic? I am not so sure. Having said that, some of us have clearly learnt very well to live with the pandemic, to work hard and grow in this pandemic,” said Munjal.

Speaking about the potential that India holds, he said, it has the opportunity and a huge possibility in growth. “I have no doubt in my mind, India will very soon become an economic powerhouse around the globe.” 

The government, he said, was wanting to make doing business easy for those within and those wanting to come into the country and that would create a welcoming situation for investment by foreigners and Indians. 

Many corporates, Munjal pointed out, were trying to leave some of the countries and move their investment into other countries. “India should be welcoming them,” he said.