Completed in a little over nine months since construction began, the Colombia plant is Hero MotoCorp’s fifth and only plant outside of India. Hero’s ‘first’ global manufacturing facility at Villa Rica, Colombia has just commenced its operations and was inaugurated in the presence of Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, and Chairman, MD and CEO of Hero MotoCorp Ltd. Pawan Munjal.
The whole project investment by Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL) has been pegged at US$ 70 MILLION, of which US$ 38 million has been utilised in CAPEX and the rest will be used as working capital over the next few years. The new Hero facility will provide employment to 2200 people in the region and will act as the export hub for other Andean & Central American countries. The plant is spread over 17 acres (68,000 sq meters) of land at the Parque Sur free trade zone at Villa Rica in the state of Cauca – about 500 km south-west of the city of Bogota. This plant will have an initial production capacity of 80,000 units per annum, which will be later expanded to produce 150,000 units per annum in the next phase.
The Hero Dash has been unveiled in Colombia too (image for representation purpose only)
The new Colombia plant will manufacture HMCL’s globally successful range of motorcycles and scooters. It will also manufacture ten products from the HMCL portfolio, including the all-new scooter Dash which was also unveiled in Colombia as part of its global launch. Commenting at the inauguration ceremony, Pawan Munjal said, “It is a historic milestone for Hero MotoCorp as this facility in Colombia is our first plant outside of India. I wish to thank the Honourable President for joining us on this memorable occasion. This facility will be a key resource for us as we plan to further consolidate our market position with a range of products across segments. The plant will also act as a guiding light, as we work towards transforming ourselves into a global automotive giant with manufacturing facilities across the globe.”