[Gansan]

Hero Motors Ltd (formerly Hero-Honda) will set a world record on January 21st, when they will sell their 100 millionth two wheeler! I still vividly remember the day they entered the market in the early '80s with their CD 100. A 100cc four stroke engine sounded incredible to us, when the only four stroke bike known was the Bullet. (A 50cc four stroke moped called "Cadi" debuted a little later, but bombed). They never looked back. There was a stutter when they parted ways with Honda, but still remain number one.

As the owner of a Splendor for the past 20 years, with 156000 km on the odo, which still runs smooth as butter and returns 62 kmpl, it gladdens my heart! A truly "fill it, shut it, forget it" experience!

https://gaadiwaadi.com/hero-to-set-w...les-this-week/

[Thermodynamics]

Remarkable achievement. Indeed CD100 is iconic, IMO it is still the best looking design of all 4-stroke commuter bikes till date.

I wish they don't loose track, what made them stand was disruption, differentiation, envisioning 20 years ahead and pioneering the change.

[abhi7013]

I just got the renewed RC card for my dad's CD100 a few minutes back via post. Reading this news just after that simply feels amazing!
Only wish they remained as creative and efficient a company as they used to be back then...
Everything started spiralling down with the new ZMA/ZMR. Only hope the new launches gain momentum again and they re-look at the 220-300cc space.

[Venkatesh]

Hero MotoCorp rolls out the 100 millionth bike

Here’s Hero MotoCorp road to 100 million

1994 – First Million
2001 – Five Million
2004 – 10 Million
2008 – 25 Million
2013 – 50 Million
2017 – 75 Million
2021 – 100 Million





100 Million Achievement

https://youtu.be/KVbnLq0ed_c

Source

[warrioraks]

What an accomplishment. I am one of those who predicted (around 2015) that Hero would be dead within a decade if they don't re-invent. I was expecting Bajaj and others to eat-up the market share because of Hero's boring line-up. They proved me so wrong, not in the best of styles arguably. But still this is no less an achievement. Well done Hero!

[TrackDay]

I should say Mr. Pawan Munjal has put on a nice presentation & also dressed smartly for the occasion.

This roll out is a good thing in many ways. A firm that has provided employment to many & also given the market 2 wheelers for affordable commute. Hoping more such firms may come up in our country to help grow the economy. This is indeed a milestone achievement.

[Big Smoke]

I only saw the first 10 minutes, but was super happy to see that they mentioned the Harley Davidson - Hero partnership as well (image of newspaper cut-out, at around 4 min mark).

It just means that this partnership actually holds importance to them, and maybe present as well as potential Harley customers have a secure future.

I don't know if they mentioned anything about the partnership later in the video. Would be splendid if they did.

[V.Narayan]

What a proud moment for India. Just yesterday Bajaj & others had to queue up at some wretched bureaucrats door to get a license to even increase their production by 5000 more units a year. Congrats to Hero Group. This shows what Indian industry can achieve if the bureaucrats and politicians stay out of the way.

[Chetan_Rao]

Three-fourths of those 100 have been done in just over a decade (2008 onwards)

[ramzsys]

All thanks to the 97.2cc Honda motor.

CD100, splendor, glamour, passion and the super/pro addon all sold on the reliability of that engine and hero still reaping dividends on the trust earned.

[H0RSEPOWER]

Just similar to Maruti, Hero has understood the Indian automotive buyer mentality pretty well. And the sales chart proves it! In spite of not having any model in the quarter litre or above performance category, they are having the highest share in the two wheeler market, just like in spite of not having any cars with base model ex showroom price above 1 million rupees, Maruti is possessing half of the four wheeler market.
But as opposed to the car market, in the motorcycle segment, performance oriented bikes do sale in comparatively better number(not too much though) , so wish to see them venture into at least the quarter litre category as well, to fill up the void of the legendary Karizma!

[GTO]

Whoa, the world's no. 1 - what an incredible once-in-a-lifetime kind of achievement. Big congrats to Hero & the Munjals.

Originally Posted by warrioraks

I am one of those who predicted (around 2015) that Hero would be dead within a decade if they don't re-invent.

I see some similarities in the way that Hero & Maruti have evolved! In the 2000s, most analysts thought that their days of domination are behind them after new competition arrived. But the two fought tooth & nail, expanded product lines, distribution, sales channels, R&D etc., and never gave up that VFM quotient that has always been their formula for success.

[neil.jericho]

Kudos to Hero for this wonderful achievement. It certainly isnt easy to achieve this level of sales success in India and they certainly are doing something right for the sales registers to keep ringing.

But, there is another side to Hero motorcycles. Just yesterday, there were discussions on a few whatsapp groups (not related to each other), where owners of the Hero Xpulse were complaining about so many things. This is just a snapshot of what was being discussed
- The ABS units on the BS4 Xpulses were infamously problematic and were replaced under warranty.
- Updated ABS module also appears to be faulty. AP has already shared a picture of the problem (Hero teases small adventure bike. EDIT: It's the XPulse 200) on the thread.
- Non availability of parts. One owner complained about waiting for 2 months now for basic parts. This was outside Kerala.
- One bike is Kerala has turned out to be a complete lemon. Some of the parts replaced include the engine head (more than once), cylinder kit, engine internal components etc.
- Premature clutch wear on the BS4 bikes.
- Pathetic service experiences in Kerala (I dont know about outside KL).

Ive always maintained that anyone can sell motorcycles in India. But setting up the infrastructure and processes for quality management, after sales service, supply chain logistics etc takes time and effort. In the long run, motorcyclists will get tired of going to the Hero SVCs every few months to fix niggling issues that should never have existed in the first place. The way things are going, I see Hero owners dumping their bikes in the second hand market once they cross the 4 and a half year ownership mark as they wont have the energy to deal with the Hero SVCs after their 5 year warranty gets over.

Im sure that by then, Hero would have sold another quantillion bikes and will be busy patting themselves on the back instead of improving their back end processes.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by TrackDay

also dressed smartly for the occasion.

Is it only me, or does he actually look like the KFC colonel (logo)!

[Aditya]

Brilliant achievement. 100 million / 10 crore bikes is no mean feat at all. When the company broke away from Honda, I though they will just not be able to keep going for long. How wrong I was! This is one Indian company that has stood up to challenges thrown at it from global giants and come of better. Got to be proud of it.

While there have been some rather boring bikes from Hero over the years, there is no denying their reliability and superb fuel efficiency - both of which are vital points to be considered while buying a bike for most Indians.

Then there have been Hero bikes that have been desirable - the original CBZ, Karizma, Impluse, etc. The new crop also seems attractive. I see the company going from strength t strength. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a spike in motorcycle sales and Hero is leading the sales charts.