Hero aims to sell 600,000 two-wheelers in October

Looking to cash in on demand for scooters, firm has also raised scooter capacity to 1.3 mn units from one mn

Buoyed by a double-digit growth in the ten-day long Navratra-Dussehra period, two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp is aiming to sell nearly 600,000 units in retail sales this month.

Looking to cash in on the robust demand for scooters, the company has also raised its annual scooter capacity to 1.3 million units from the previous one million units.

"We have had a robust double-digit growth during the Navratras, with close to four lakh (400,000) units sold in retails sales during the 10-day long festivities up to Dussehra. With this momentum, we are set to clock about six-lakh units in retail sales in the month of October," A Srinivasu Hero MotoCorp Head of National Sales told PTI.

The company's motorcycle brands, including Glamour, Passion Pro and Splendor drew huge volumes during the festive period, he added.

Even the new Splendor PRO has contributed handsomely during the period, Srinivasu said.

"Going forward, with our full metal body scooter Duet coming soon, we are looking at aggressively gaining market share in the scooter segment as well, thereby further strengthening our dominant leadership across markets," Srinivasu said.

The company has also raised its scooter capacity to 13 lakh units in the second quarter of this fiscal, up from 10 lakh units in the first quarter.

Hero MotoCorp recently unveiled the Maestro Edge scooter, priced at Rs 49,500 (ex-showroom Delhi). The Hero Duet scooter, also unveiled along with Maestro Edge, will be launched in dealerships later during the festive season.

These scooters are the first of the products to have been developed by Hero on new platforms through its in-house technology, since separating from its erstwhile partner Honda.

In financial year 2014-15, Hero MotoCorp emerged as the highest exporter of scooters in the country with about 80,000 units.

In order to further enhance sales during the festive period the company has planned various customer engagement initiatives.

"The advertising approach is multi-media and the key strategy is to reach out to consumers in each market, so one of the key plans is to do one million test rides, which reflects our strategy of one-to-one engagement," Srinivasu said.