Output picks up at two-wheeler firms
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Hero Motocorp Ltd and Bajaj Auto Ltd plan to sharply expand two-wheeler production amid a sustained recovery in demand in rural and semi-urban markets since the easing of the lockdown, three people familiar with the matter said.
Hero Motocorp’s senior management informed its vendors about the plan to ramp up manufacturing to 650,000-700,000 vehicles a month at a meeting last week, one of the three people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
India’s largest two-wheeler maker expects demand to sustain till at least the festive season, the person said.
“Hero is really bullish about increasing production. In July, it might touch pre-covid-19 levels. The challenge though will be to keep increasing production amid the lockdown in Chennai, lack of manpower and increasing infections,” the person said. “Due to a pickup in sales, Hero has an inventory of around 200,000 units, which is significantly lower than usual”. Hero last crossed the 700,000 production mark in September and October 2018, when Indian economy was growing at a decent pace. The latest plans would be a sharp jump from the 450,000-500,000 two-wheelers Hero was producing each month before the pandemic. Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto expects to boost monthly production during the coming months starting from August to 320,000350,000 units, matching the yearago levels, despite challenges at its plant in Aurangabad, where several workers were found infected. This shows the company will cross pre-covid-19 output levels in the run-up to the festive season.