New OBD emission norms to increase 2W prices by 1-2%: Hero MotoCorp

The new norms, which will come into force on vehicles produced after April 1 this year enhancing real-time emission tracking and diagnostic capabilities

The addition of an on-board diagnostic (OBD) device on new two-wheelers ­­-- as mandated under the soon to be enforced BS6 Phase 2 emission norms -- will marginally increase their price by 1-2 per cent, Hero MotoCorp Executive Director (Operations) Vikram Kasbekar said on Friday.

 

The new norms, which will come into force on vehicles produced after April 1 this year, are stricter carbon emission monitoring standards for vehicles in India, enhancing real-time emission tracking and diagnostic capabilities.

 

“We are on track as far as OBD-2 Phase-B is concerned. This is slightly different from the earlier one in the sense that we can manufacture up to March 31 and thereafter, those vehicles can be sold in the market. However, from April 1, we have to manufacture vehicles as per the OBD-2 Phase-B. We are right on track and we will be converting our entire folio well before our deadline is there,” Kasbekar, who will take over as acting CEO of the company from May 1, told analysts during a conference call.

 

He added, “There is going to be a marginal price increase of 1-2 per cent because of the additional hardware that would be installed in the products. That would be valid across the industry.”

 

Hero MotoCorp on Thursday reported a 1.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,107.5 crore for the third quarter of the financial year 2025 (Q3FY25).

 

The company’s Chief Financial Officer Vivek Anand welcomed the central government’s recent announcement of imposing no tax on salaried individual’s income of up to Rs 12 lakhs.

 

“If you really look at our entry segments, especially the 100-110 cc segments, the customers’ income range is between Rs 6-12 lakhs per annum. If I really talk about the budget, one of the things the budget has done is to provide tax relief to this segment of customers. This means that their disposable cash in hand will actually go up as we get into the next (financial) year,” Anand mentioned.

 

“We believe that anyone who is earning close to Rs 10-12 lakhs per year will have a positive cash impact of Rs 40,000-50,000. This will possibly take care of the EMI which he or she is paying for the two-wheeler. This should really help drive consumption for the two-wheeler sector," he added.

 

Ashutosh Varma, National Sales Head (India Business Unit), Hero MotoCorp, said that in the third quarter, the company saw a “big spike” in the rural demand. 

“The contribution of rural sales went up by almost three per cent during the festival season. We expect the momentum to continue as we go into the next financial year. We know that a host of government measures are coming in to improve the rural sentiment and we expect to benefit from that,” Varma added.