Hero MotoCorp has made Engines Engineering its third partner, which will help the company in future product development. Engines Engineering is an Italian 2-wheeler design firm which was till earlier this year owned by Mahindra. Mahindra had bought 70% stake in the company, making them the owners. Post the withdrawal of Mahindra from Engines Engineering, Hero saw a good opportunity to partner with them. The Bologna-based company will help the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer to develop technology and future product design.

“I am sure the partnership with Engines Engineering, along with our other technology alliances, will result in offering cutting-edge technology and visionary styling in all our future products. This is also in keeping with my vision of having multiple centres of excellence located strategically across the globe,” Pawan Munjal, MD and CEO, Hero MotoCorp, said.

Hero MotoCorp also has a tie-up with Erik Buell Racing (EBR) and AVL of US and Austria respectively. The former will help in design and development of new products, while the latter will help in developing new engines. Engines Engineering will help Hero to develop its own engine capabilities and setting up an in-house R&D centre. The Italian company has also worked with Honda, Ducati and Yamaha, while playing a crucial role in developing the latest generation of Royal Enfield motorcycles.

With very competent partners on board, Hero MotoCorp is all set to unleash all new products in the Indian market in 2014. These products will replace the current Honda engineered products. Hero is also likely to launch a 250cc motorcycle, which will be high on performance and will be priced aggressively. This quartre-litre product will replace with Karizma, which has aged significantly.