Hero MotoCorp, on Thursday, said it would start assembly plants in Kenya and Nigeria. The company also said that it had partnered an undisclosed European firm for that. Besides, it is considering picking up equity stake in its new partners.
“We will have assembly plants in Latin America and Africa, and that will happen over a period of time. Kenya and Nigeria will have assembly operations,” Hero MotoCorp Managing Director and CEO Pawan Munjal told reporters.
Speaking on the sidelines of the annual convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) here, he said the company would first launch its bikes in Nigeria around November-December this year, and assembly operations would start six months after that.
“Assembly operations in Kenya will also start soon. We have already finalised a distributor for Kenya,” he said without sharing a timeline.
On the Latin American market, Mr. Munjal said the company was focussing on the Colombian market first, where it planned to have an assembly operation.
Mr. Munjal said: “I am looking at hubs to serve at different countries. For example, Colombia could be one of the hubs, and, similarly, Nigeria and Kenya could also be other two hubs.”
About the new partnership with the European firm, he said: “I have already signed the contract two weeks back. This is a European firm. It is a design company. The company provides end-to-end solutions for two-wheelers.”
