Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp has more than doubled its capital expenditure (capex) for the current fiscal to ₹1,500 crore, mainly to upgrade its portfolio to conform to BS-VI emission norms and for its upcoming plant in Andhra Pradesh, chief financial officer Niranjan Gupta said on Monday.
The capital would also be utilised for the development of new products.
“We have earmarked a capex of ₹1,500 crore this fiscal. It will be utilised for Andhra plant, BS-VI upgradation and usual things like new product development,” Mr. Gupta told reporters here.
The two-wheeler major had earmarked ₹700 crore capex in 2018-19.
The company, which is trying consolidate its position in the premium segment, on Monday launched two scooters to cater to domestic and international markets.
It introduced Maestro Edge 125 with fuel injection technology priced at ₹62,700.
The company claimed it was India’s first scooter with fuel injection technology.
The variants of Maestro Edge 125 with non-fuel injection technology are tagged at ₹58,500 and ₹60,000 (ex-showroom Delhi).
Hero MotoCorp also introduced 110 cc Pleasure+ priced at ₹47,300. Mr. Gupta said the company’s share in the scooter segment remained ‘under indexed’ and there was enormous opportunity for growth.
“Premium segment [125 cc] in scooters is growing and we are also bringing in new products. It will also have a positive impact on our entry-level scooters, which continue to bring in maximum customers,” he said.
On the current fiscal’s outlook, Mr. Gupta said: “We expect second half of the fiscal to be better with expectations of a good monsoon and easing of liquidity in the market.”
