Hero Motors in $250-million joint venture with BRP-Powertrain

Hero Motors Limited, part of the $4.5 billion Hero Group, has teamed up with BRP-Powertrain, an affiliate of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc of  Austria, to set up a $250-million facility for manufacturing powertrains.

Hero Motors today signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BRP-Powertrain for manufacturing transmissions. Hero Motors, which already has a strategic alliance with BRP-Powertrain and Hero Motors Limited, hopes to establish itself as the hub for manufacturing transmissions. 

Hero Motors also announced the setting up of its new design outsourcing vertical `Hero Innovation Centre' based on ''design to cost'' concept and supporting the BRP-Powertrain manufacturing base. 

''This MoU is a significant step in expanding the existing long term strategic alliance with BRP-Powertrain. This gives us an opportunity to showcase our expertise in engineering design and deliverance of end- to-end solutions to customers,'' Pankaj Munjal, MD, Hero Motors, said.

''We envisage innovative breakthroughs and operational efficiencies as direct benefits of our collaboration with Hero Motors. We have derived exceptional value in the past and we are now happy to extend our strategic partnership. This alliance will further strengthen our global position and scale up our transmission equipments range for our products'' said Michael Mayringer Ing, director-purchase, BRP-Powertrain.

The recreational transmission division of Hero Motors was commissioned as a strategic business unit in 2005. It is now one of the top entities in the manufacturing and supply chain management of transmission assemblies for fun and sports vehicles to the European markets. Hero Motors has orders from companies like BMW, Harley Davidson, Getrag.

BRP-Powertrain (formerly BRP-Rotax), is an affiliate of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc, a leader in the development and production of innovative 4- and 2-stroke high performance Rotax engines for BRP products (Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and sport boats, Can-Am quads and roadsters) as well as for motorcycles, karts, ultra light and light aircraft. Over the past 50 years, the company has developed more than 350 engine models for recreational products and has produced more than six million engines.

Hero Motors provides entire engineering solutions - from design and development to manufacturing and assembly - for global automotive industry. Hero Motors has developed its center of excellence in the following verticals - engines and transmissions, ferrous casting, fitness and assembly, gas fuel systems, chassis systems and aviation outsourcing.