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Hero MotoCorp To Invest Rs 10,000 Crore In R&D, Other Activities Over Next 5-7 Years

Hero MotoCorp’s Vision 2020 will “be the future of mobility” with an eye on becoming carbon neutral by 2030, Pawan Munjal says.

Pawan Munjal, chairman and managing director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd., during the World Economic Forum’s India economic summit in New Delhi, India, in 2010. (Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)
Pawan Munjal, chairman and managing director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd., during the World Economic Forum’s India economic summit in New Delhi, India, in 2010. (Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)

India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd. has announced investment of Rs 10,000 crore over the next 5-7 years on various activities, including research and development and setting up new manufacturing plants.

The company's Vision 2020 will "be the future of mobility", Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Managing Director Pawan Munjal said, adding that the firm also aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. "Today even as we continue to rationalise our costs, we will not leave any stone unturned to realise our Vision of 'The Future of Mobility',” Munjal said.

"Over the next 5-7 years, we would be investing around Rs 10,000 crore in R&D of alternative mobility solutions, modern, state-of-the-art, sustainable manufacturing facilities, network expansion, and brand building across the globe," Munjal said.

Since parting ways with Japan’s Honda Motor Co. Ltd. in 2011, Hero MotoCorp has invested $1 billion on new plants, machineries and product development while another $600 million was pumped into R&D.

Munjal said the company later this year expects to cross 100 million mark in total sale since the erstwhile Hero Honda started its journey in 1985.

On Tuesday, Hero MotoCorp launched the BS-VI compliant versions of Glamour and Passion Pro motorcycles. The company also unveiled Xtreme 160R which will hit the markets in March.

Sharing the company's sustainability targets, Munjal said Hero MotoCorp aims to be carbon neutral by 2030, waste neutral by 2025 and 500 percent water positive by the same year.

The chairman also stressed on the company's ambition to become a force to reckon with on the global stage. The two-wheeler maker is now exporting to over 40 countries as compared to four in 2011 when Hero and Honda split.

There has been a lot of innovation by the company's global partners and more will come, Munjal said, adding that "sooner than later, we will find our rightful place in global automotive business".

"Changing times call for a change in structure. So, to address the new, emerging trends, we have created a separate vertical—the Emerging Mobility Business Unit (EMBU) that is working on a range of mobility solutions for the future,” he added.