While Hero is developing its own engines, it’s also focussing on bringing the Honda sourced powerplants up to the latest emission norms. Fuel injection technology will help the company comply with stricter emission requirements.
Hero has come in to a joint venture with Italian company Magneti Marelli for fuel injection systems that will be available on more of its products in the future. Currently, the Glamour and Karizma ZMR are the two products in the company’s portfolio that feature FI technology, but we will see more products receiving the updates very soon. The move to upgrade its products with FI technology comes after the announcement of the more stringent emission norms, which make the existing age old Honda engines out of place.
Hero’s motorcycles have proved to be reliable, efficient and easy to maintain. A major reason for their success, these Honda sourced engines have been the choice for most commuters in the country, considering the kind of hassle free ownership they tend to provide. Even though the age old Honda engines form the mainstay of Hero’s success, the engines cannot go on forever, especially with the stringent emission norms ready to be put into effect. The Honda engines also turn out to be cheaper to manufacture without Hero having to spend over research and development, providing higher economies of scale.
However as reliable as they might be, Hero cannot use the Honda engines for eternity. With BS4 emission norms soon to be applied on two-wheelers, the existing engines will not qualify to run under the same. Hence the Indian two-wheeler giant is trying to find middle ground with Honda’s engines by introducing fuel injection systems in collaboration with Magneti Marelli. The inclusion of FI will also make its two-wheelers ready for international markets that Hero plans to enter in the near future.
