Hero Honda may rebrand to Hero Moto

After its split with long-time Japanese joint venture partner Honda Motors, Hero Group is now said to have applied for a name change from Hero Honda to Hero Moto.

The group has already applied to the registrar of companies and is awaiting response from Registrar of Companies about its availability, CNBC-TV18 said.

Though the company had rights to use the Hero Honda name till 2014, analysts suggest the move may have to do with the Hero Group wanting to promote a new product under the new name.

If the move goes through, the Honda name would be dropped from the motorcycles. Hero Group's sub-brands - Passion, Pleasure and Splendor however will retain their brand names.

Aiming to create a new image for the company, Hero Group had appointed Omnicom Group's design agency Wolff Olins to give it a new brand identity, logo and positioning in March.

In April, the group had also brought on board Law & Kenneth to handle the creatives for its corporate account. (See: Law & Kenneth bags the corporate account for Hero Group)

Hero Group has reported to have earmarked around Rs200 crore on the rebranding exercise. The group is also said to be eyeing some of the African markets Latin America markets for exports.

The name change process though would take about two months as Hero Group would need shareholders approval for the same.