Rising interests and costs fail to slow down growth of Hero Motocorp

New Delhi: India's largest motorcycle maker, Hero Motorcorp remains optimistic about continuing their double digit growth in the coming fiscal year.

Rising interest costs and increasing prices have deterred car buyers in Asia's third-largest economy in recent months, but sales of motorcycles, used as a family vehicle by millions of Indians, have seen strong growth.

Hero sold 6.1 million vehicles, including scooters, in 2011, a 19.2 percent rise from the previous year.

"We are very bullish for the company and I believe we will continue to grow in double digits," Managing Director Pawan Munjal said at the New Delhi Auto Expo, after the company unveiled its first concept hybrid scooter.

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Scooters currently form a tiny part of total sales, but Munjal said growth in the segment is faster than for motorcycles.

The company, formerly called Hero Honda Motors, was renamed last year after the controlling shareholder, the Munjal family, bought Japanese partner Honda Motor Co's 26 percent stake.

It has since set a target of achieving annual sales of 10 million vehicles within five to six years, with 10 percent of volumes from overseas markets.

By 12.47 pm, shares in Hero MotoCorp, valued at $6.9 billion by the market, were down 4.2 percent in a Mumbai market that fell 0.7 percent.

Reuters