Hero Leading the Charge – Complete Lineup to be BS6 in 1-2 Months: CEO

Upcoming Hero two-wheelers will all be Bharat Stage VI compliant. Company says, complete transition by January 2020, ahead of March deadline!

After its split with its technology partner Honda, Hero was out there to prove itself back at the 2014 Auto Expo, but it gobbled it up by showcasing and promising some very futuristic machinery which no one in the company is talking about even five years later! Hero sees BS6 as another opportunity to shed that question mark over its ‘technical capability‘ and it is up for it. This time it looks a lot more mature but that rivalry with Honda has continued!

Honda rolled out media invites for its first BS6 product – the Activa 125, but in a game of one upmanship, Hero tried to snatch that tag by releasing a press release (just ahead of Honda’s unveiling) announcing its Splendor iSmart as the ‘first‘ Bharat Stage VI compliant product. However, eventually, it was Honda which could commence deliveries of its Activa 125 FI and it has also launched SP125 – another BS6 product in the market.

Upcoming Hero two-wheelers
Splendor iSmart has become India’s first BS6 motorcycle. Click pic for specs and price…

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But Hero has its strategy set! It has discontinued production of more than 50 of its BSIV compliant products. Their place will be lapped up by their updated BS6 versions. Mr Pawan Munjal, Chairman and CEO, Hero MotoCorp, confirmed that within the next 1-2 months, it will convert its complete portfolio into BS6. That means that by January, Hero should completely be shipping Bharat Stage VI motorcycles and scooters.

Hero Caught Testing a New Bike

This is a big gamble and a major decision because this can give an edge to rivals and they can sneak in their much lower priced BS4 products till March 2020. Honda has also announced that it will not wait till the last month to convert its portfolio into BS6.TVS and Yamaha have also officially started launching their BS6 two-wheelers. But Bajaj and Royal Enfield have not announced a single BS6 product till date.

Source – CNBCTV18