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Informist, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

 

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--Hero MotoCorp: Expect positive demand trend for 2-wheelers to continue
--CONTEXT: Hero MotoCorp's management in post-earnings call with analysts
--Hero MotoCorp: Two-wheeler industry sales to grow in double digits Q4
--Hero MotoCorp: Commodity price pressures seen in Q3 continue in Q4
--Hero MotoCorp: Expect 2-wheeler industry to grow in high single digit FY27
--Hero MotoCorp:Wedding season from Feb, festivals Mar to drive rural growth
--Hero MotoCorp: Hiked prices by INR 300/unit Jan, will hike again if needed
--Hero MotoCorp: Reduced channel inventory significantly amid strong sales
--Hero MotoCorp: Focusing on top 10 markets has helped co's growth abroad
--Hero MotoCorp:Rapid urbanisation, macroecon trends pushing scooters growth
--Hero MotoCorp: GST cut helped push growth of entry-level motorcycles
--Hero MotoCorp: 2-wheeler growth broad-based but scooters may grow faster
--Hero MotoCorp: Have got PLI approval for one EV model in Q3

 

By Anand JC and Afra Abubacker

 

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI – Hero MotoCorp Ltd. Friday said it wants to focus on bolstering its presence in areas such as scooters, premium motorcycles, electric two-wheelers, global markets, and parts and accessories business going forward. "While we take pride as a team in our volume leadership at Hero MotoCorp, we are all acutely aware of the opportunities that exist in some of the other categories which are growing faster and where we are relatively under-represented," a top company executive told analysts in a post-earnings conference call Friday.

 

"We have detailed action plans on each of these five growth pillars and what's heartening to see is that these action plans are not just on paper, but we are already seeing early results out of each of them," the official said. 

 

Hero MotoCorp particularly stressed on its focus on the scooter segment, which it expects to grow faster than motorcycles going forward, even if the growth in the two-wheeler industry currently is broad-based. "If you look at the macro trends in the country, urbanisation, cities getting congested, and more and more women also coming into workforce, gig economy growing," the official said. "You start adding all of that together, and all of those macro trends are favouring scooter expansion."  

 

The automobile segment overall has benefitted from the cut in the goods and services tax. Sales shot up in the December quarter, buoyed by price reductions of vehicles, and that momentum has continued in January as well. Within the two-wheeler segment, which comprises nearly 80% of the overall automobiles sold in India, motorcycles registered strong growth as well. "For example, after many years we also saw very strong growth in entry and core (segments). I think the impact of GST and that tailwind is continuing," another executive said. "And as the income levels go up, we also see the premium radically continuing to grow. So actually there is a tailwind for different reasons across different categories." 

 

Retail sales of two-wheelers grew 21% on year in January. Hero MotoCorp expects this positive trend to continue in the coming months. "We remain confident about the growth prospects of the two-wheeler industry and expect the industry to grow by double digits during the current quarter (Jan-Mar)," the company said, adding that it expects to grow faster than the industry. However, for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), the company expects the two-wheeler industry to grow in high single digits year-on-year due to a high base.

 

Growth of two-wheeler sales has been strong in rural and urban areas both, the company said. Sales in urban India grew a tad faster than rural areas following the income-tax cut announced in February last year, benefits of which the company accrued in the latter part of the year. "The kind of response that we saw from the rural markets was far better than what was expected," the company said. Hero MotoCorp expects the wedding season and some festivals in February and March to boost growth prospects for two-wheeler sales in rural India.

 

Amid strong sales, Hero MotoCorp reduced its channel inventory this year. "We are very judicious in terms of planning. So we know that as we move forward into quarter four (Jan-Mar) and next quarter one (Apr-Jun), which we expect to be extremely strong, we will adequately be planning the channel inventory," the company said.

 

While robust demand for two-wheelers seen in the December quarter continued into the March quarter, so did commodity cost pressures. "We are seeing inflationary trends, we've seen the prices of aluminum and precious metals growing starting last quarter. We've also seen some forex impact again starting last quarter," the company said. The company hiked prices of its two-wheelers by INR 300 per unit in January to offset some of these pressures. 

 

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and are taking proactive steps to ensure financial resilience," the company said. Hero MotoCorp will take an adequate price increase once again in the March quarter, if required.

 

However, Hero MotoCorp said hiking prices is not the only way for it to offset the impact of input cost pressures, as it has other tools in the shed as well. These include cost-saving programs such as LEAP savings, which is a cost-management initiative focused on optimising raw material costs, supply chain efficiencies, and overheads.  More

 

Hero MotoCorp said its global business has seen on-year growth of 50% year-to-date. Its strategy of focusing on the top 10 markets worldwide has helped it grow its global business. "Our new products, which we've launched across the markets, are doing very well," the company said. These launches include Hunk 125, Hunk 160, Hunk 250, and Zoom 110. Premium two-wheelers contribute 40% to its global sales. "Our products in the global market have now been designed, suiting the specific market conditions and customer requirements. So that's really driving the uptakes in those respective markets," the company said.

 

Hero MotoCorp operates in the electric two-wheeler segment through the Hero Vida brand. The company invested INR 2.08 billion in its electric vehicle business in the December quarter. One model manufactured by Hero Vida got the government's approval for incentives under the production-linked incentive scheme. "There is a strong momentum within the Vida team to build more models which meet the criteria and become eligible," the company said. 

 

The company disclosed its December quarter earnings late Thursday. It reported a net profit of INR 13.49 billion on revenues of INR 123.28 billion. At 1226 IST, shares of the company were largely flat at INR 5,767.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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