Hero Motocorp, as evident from its recent Central American venture, is looking at the international markets in a big way.
As an important step, the world's largest two wheeler maker (in terms of volume) has set up a CKD assembly unit in Kenya to facilitate easy entrance into markets in that region. The company's first overseas plant will get its supply of CKD kits from Hero's Indian facilities.
The Kenyan plant is established in partnership with Ryce East Africa, a reputed local conglomerate. Sameer Group, an integral part of Ryce East Africa is elected as the official distributor of Hero motorcycles in the country.
Hero Motocorp has launched its range of commuter bikes including the Hero CD Dawn, Splendor Pro and Glamor along with premium offerings like the Hunk and the Karizma. In addition to Kenya, the company will foray into Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in a few weeks time.
The marketing campaign will use the same "Hum Mein Hain Hero" anthem albeit in English. We can expect Hero to eventually expand into more markets in Africa with Kenya as a production hub.
With the competition from its former partner Honda tightening up in the domestic market, Hero decided to step up its international presence to extend its leadership. The two wheeler maker is aiming to get 10% of its total volume from overseas markets by 2017.
