Every company undergoes a change and it was the right time for Hero MotoCorp to make that change, that's how Niranjan Gupta, the new CEO of Hero MotoCorp, explained his boss and Chairman Pawan Munjal's decision to step aside as CEO.

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"The board expects me and the company to change the gears and that is exactly what I will do. We will build on the strength of the brand, our distribution network and the trust of customers to expand the pie in our core strengths and win in new segments. The expectation is to have a direction which is more in speed with outcomes and results," he said in an interview with CNBC TV18.

Hero MotoCorp recently announced a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and ten percent of the company's staff have exited the company with a VRS package.

"Every company has to go through talent churn to make the brand future fit. Hero MotoCorp had not refreshed talent in a long time. VRS was done to make the company future-ready for 7-10 years. Hero MotoCorp will be a more performance and outcome-driven organization than an activity and action-driven company," said Gupta.

Hero MotoCorp will soon launch a Hero 2.0 plan to redefine customer experiences. More than 500 existing stores of the company will be getting a facelift to make them appeal to a newer generation of buyers. In addition to the facelift of existing dealerships, more than 100 new premium stores will be launched in FY24.

"In FY24 Hero MotoCorp will launch the highest number of premium bikes in its history," said Gupta. On the cards, is the re-launch of the Karizma and a 420cc motorcycle jointly developed by Hero MotoCorp and Harley Davidson.

Hero MotoCorp has already announced that they plan to increase the presence of the company's Vida V1 electric scooters from three to hundred cities by the end of 2023.

The CEO said that apart from exclusive Vida stores, the electric scooters will also be sold alongside other Hero products in the company's premium stores. There is a plan to have more than 200 touchpoints for Vida in the next 12 months.

With the central government reducing FAME subsidies, the industry has taken a hit of at least 20000-50000 per scooter. Gupta said, the restructuring of FAME only shows that companies must innovate for the future.

"Long-term visibility for EV policies must be there for 10 years.

Changes put industry out of gear, policies must be stable and businesses must have viable business models, subsidies will not continue forever," he said.

Speaking about the current electric two-wheeler market where startups are leading the way, Gupta said the current state of play will change in 2-3 years. "Cash burn is no longer a fancy word, the focus is now on cash earn and profitability," he said.

Niranjan Gupta listed diversity and inclusion as one of his top priorities. He said Hero MotoCorp has already laid out a roadmap to take women's representation from 10 percent to 30 percent by 2030.

First Published:Jun 7, 2023 10:35 PM IST