Hero Honda will reveal is new global brand identity post its break up with Japanese automaker Honda in London on the 9th of August, 2011. The new brand identity is the first step by Hero Honda to transform into a major global brand. Wolff Olins has worked on HeroMoto Corp’s new name, logo, brand architecture and positioning. The company also took the services of Law & Kenneth to establish the new brand and to promote it through various communication mediums.

Hero Honda also plans to unfold a series of strategic initiatives which will help the company maintain its leadership position in India. What could this be? Could Hero Honda have striked a deal with an European motorcycle manufacturer for technology and expertise? Or has Hero Honda taken over a 2-wheeler company, giving it access to new motorcycles and engines? We will have to wait a few more days to find out.

Bajaj Auto started the concept of Pro-Biking showrooms across the country when they launched the Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi. The showrooms became a platform for prospective buyers to witness the bikes before buying them. There was also test drives on dynometers, which would give a feel of the engine performance to the buyer. Now a Hero Honda dealer in Pune has taken a cue or two from these Bajaj Pro-Biking showrooms and utilized the ideas in their own dealership. No, there is no dynometer here but like Bajaj Pro-Biking showrooms, the particular showroom too has bikes hanging with the front facing upwards, tied to chains. Further more, every Pro-Biking showroom has motorcycles positioned on the stand and the Hero Honda dealer too has the Hunk positioned on a stand. Do you think it was a good idea to do so by the Hero Honda dealer?

Hero Honda has reported record sales in the past few months. The company is facing a capacity crunch due to the high demand it is facing on its motorcycles. Things are only set to get worse as Hero Honda plans to expand into global markets post its break up with Honda. Thus a fourth plant is on the anvil and the company will announce both the location and the investment details for its new facility in the coming weeks. Currently, Gujarat and Karnataka are in the run to manufacture bikes from the world’s largest 2-wheeler manufacturer.

“For 2012-13, we will certainly need a fourth plant. In the next few weeks or months, we will be talking about the fourth plant. We will announce everything when the final decision is taken. We are in the final stages of the process,” Anil Dua, Hero Honda, Senior VP, Marketing and Sales, said.

Bought a Hero Honda recently and excited about servicing it, don’t be. Because what once used to be among the best in providing service to motorcycle owners of the world’s largest 2-wheeler company is no more near as competent. The issue with Hero Honda is, they bite more than they can chew. Sure they sell almost every third two-wheeler in India, but customer service certainly doesn’t seem to be on their mind post the Honda departure. Go to any service center and they won’t take appointments. Instead your supposed to come early in the morning and queue up. Once the job card person arrives you realize what a mistake you have made by buying a Hero Honda!

We say so, because half of the people who turn up for service have no respect for each other and start pushing around with the ideology of ‘me first’. Sure that is not a problem of Hero Honda, who their customers are, but managing them effectively is certainly their responsibility. When you know that there are too many bikes to serve then you can actually manage then why take so many for service in the first place. Alternatively, the dealers can always opt to have an appointment system. What is worse, there is no universal pricing across dealers, with some charging almost double for a wash. With a Yamaha motorcycle, you very well know there is not going to be any rush, but the same does not hold true for Hero Honda, so what is the company doing about it? Well nothing, really. Just sitting, declaring dividends to amass wealth amidst the promoters of the company.

Hero Honda had just one hurdle left for its name change to Hero MotoCorp, which the company has now successfully overcome. The world’s largest 2-wheeler company has got sharedholders’ approval to change its corporate name to Hero MotoCorp. The company has forwarded the approval to the Registrar of Companies for the final change. The Munjal owned company has the rights to use the Honda name in its communications till 2014, after which it can no longer use the name of the Japanese company. This change of name is part of a strategy in the company’s transition from a Honda partnership to a non-Honda one.

Hero Honda might have lost its technology partner but it has gained freedom to execute its plans according to its whims and fancies. The world’s largest two-wheeler maker now plans to enter global markets and is considering setup of plants and assembly operations overseas. The company is also looking at developing foreign specific markets as the lower capacity bikes sold in India will be inadequate there. Few of the countries on the company’s target includes South East-Asia, Africa and Latin America.

“We now want to go global. As we build up operations overseas, we will look at manufacturing and assembly operations abroad,” Anil Dua, Sr. VP (marketing and sales), Hero Honda, said.

With Hero Honda changing its name to Hero MotoCorp, the company also plans to launch new bikes. The first is the dirt bike which we had discussed about earlier. Other than that, two mass commuter motorcycles will be rolling out from the Hero Honda factory soon. These bikes will be branded as a product of Hero MotoCorp and the Honda name will not figure anywhere. The first bike would be a 110cc machine, which would use the same engine as the Honda CB Twister. Hero recently acquired the powertrain from Honda as part of its licensing agreement. The second bike would be a 125cc machine, which would try to increase sales in the extremely competitive 125cc segment. Will it come even close to the success of the Splendor? We certainly hope so.

Hero Honda plans to launch a dirt bike in India. Yes a dirt bike (something similar to what you see in the above picture). The dirt bike will be launched under the Hero MotoCorp banner and is expected to go on sale by the end of 2011. It will be powered by a 180cc engine (hopefully Honda motor) and will be the first bike in that segment. However the bike is not being made in India, but is being imported in CKD form and being assembled at Hero Honda’s Gurgaon facility. Price of this machine would be around Rs. 1.2 lakhs, putting it bang in Yamaha R15 territory. The company is launching the dirt bike as a brand building exercise, post its break up with Japanese auto major, Honda.

Few weeks ago we had written about the new name of Hero Honda. Now the company has finalized the name to be Hero MotoCorp Limited. This has been registered with the Registrar of Companies. However a final formality still remains, the nod of shareholders. Thus the company will call for an extraordinarily meeting on the 17th of June for shareholder approval. The name MotoCorp was selected as it depicts Hero Honda to be a global motorcycle maker with a global footprint. Do you like the new name of Hero Honda?

Just recently we had posted about Honda wooing the dealers to Hero Honda to join them. But now we hear of a development, wherein Hero Honda has enticed close to 150 engineers from its rival 2-wheeler manufacturers. The company is planning to setup a competent R&D center and has hired engineers from Bajaj, Mahindra and Yamaha. These engineers have been recruited under various verticals including engine design, vehicle styling and technology. Now we can expect future Hero Honda vehicles to have the best ideas from the Indian 2-wheeler industry.

“We are fast enhancing our own R&D capabilities in terms of both manpower and logistics,” Pawan Munjal, MD, Hero Honda said.