Proud moment! Hero MotoCorp creates world record; here is how

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp has crossed the 75 lakh units sales mark in 2017-18 fiscal, becoming the first ever entity to achieve such a feat globally, a company official said. The company had sold 66.6 lakh bikes and scooters in 2016-17. "A world record has been created on March 28, three days ahead of the close of the current financial year 2017-18. The company has surpassed 75 lakh unit sales mark ," a top company official told PTI. The company is clearly on track to achieve the stated objective of 1 crore annual unit sales by the year 2020, the official added.

In order to achieve sales targets, the company has lined up a slew of new launches in the next fiscal to consolidate its market leadership. "We plan to launch four new products in the financial year 2018-19 in the premium and scooter categories - Xtreme 200R and XPulse motorcycles and Duet 125 and Maestro Edge 125 scooters," the official said. The company recently launched three new commuter bikes -- Passion PRO, Passion XPRO, and Super Splendor -- to fortify its dominant leadership in the commuter segment.

"With an enhanced focus on the premium segment and scooters, we are confident of carrying the growth momentum forward," Hero MotoCorp MD and CEO Pawan Munjal had said recently while commenting on the company's future growth plans. Expecting market demand to grow significantly in the near future, Hero MotoCorp is also investing in ramping up its production capacity.

Last month, it commenced construction of its eighth manufacturing facility in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. With the addition of this facility, Hero MotoCorp will have a cumulative capacity of 1.1 crore units annually. Currently, it has an installed capacity of 92 lakh units per annum. The company continues to hold more than 50 per cent market share in the motorcycle segment.