Will enter Africa, LatAm markets by yr end: Hero

Firm is already selling two-wheelers in Sri Lanka and Nepal under new Hero brand

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp today said it will start exporting its products to Africa and Latin America before the end of the ongoing fiscal to expand its global footprint.

The company, which has started selling products under its Hero brand after the break up of the erstwhile joint venture with Hero Honda, is already selling its two-wheelers in Sri Lanka and Nepal under the new brand identity.

"By the end of this fiscal year, we would have entered a few markets in Africa and Latin America," Hero MotoCorp Senior Vice-President (Marketing & Sales) Anil Dua told reporters here.

He was speaking on the sidelines of felicitation of a bikers' team from Indian Air Force which crossed ten passes in the Himalayas, including four of the world's highest motorable passes using its 'Hero Impulse' motorcycle. Dua, however, did not specify the markets.

In September this year, the company's Managing Director and CEO Pawan Munjal had said the company would start assembly plants in Kenya and Nigeria as it looks to expand footprint in the global markets.

He had said assembly operations in Kenya was expected to kick off soon and the company had finalised a distributor there.

On the Latin American market, Munjal had said the company was focusing on the Colombian market first, where it plans to have an assembly operation.

Asked about the domestic market, Dua said: "The festive season has been good for the industry. Before it, there was an overall five per cent decline but I would expect we have come to the positive territory post festive season."

As for Hero MotoCorp, he said the company was able to sell at an average of over 25,000 units a day during the period from the first day of 'Navratra' to a couple of days after Diwali compared to about 10,000 units prior to it.

"As of now there is momentum in the market but it is too early to say if this would last till the end of the fiscal for the two-wheeler industry to post healthy growth," Dua said, adding the macro-economic factors like high interest rates and inflation continued to be concerns.