Power to the Pedal: Hero Cycles to Launch City-Wide Campaign to Promote Cycling

Ludhiana, June 14, 2016: Hero Cycles is set to launch a new awareness cum advocacy campaign to promote the culture of cycling in the city and encourage Ludhiana residents to adopt greater use of bicycles as a health and environment friendly mode of transport.

The campaign will be announced by Hero Cycles Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Pankaj Munjal tomorrow at the O P Munjal Rakh Bagh, which was recently re-developed by Hero Cycles and opened for public use. Leading Delhi-based fitness trainer Ms Vesna Jacob will also be present at the event to speak about the health benefits of cycling.

The campaign comes at a time when there is heated debate and discussion in India over degrading air quality of our cities, and rising incidence of lifestyle diseases attributed to increasingly sedentary lifestyles.

Delhi’s recent experiment with limiting number of private cars with an odd-even rule for two successive periods made national headlines and generated a much-needed discussion among common people about deteriorating environment due to excess use of hydrocarbon-fuelled automobiles. At the same time there is also a rising concern about increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.

The campaign by Hero Cycles aims to raise awareness among people about the benefits of cycling on the collective environment and health of our cities.

Hero Cycles has been campaigning for promoting cycling as a health and environment friendly practice in Indian cities. The organization supported the recent car rationing initiative in Delhi by introducing a ‘Cycle to Work’ campaign’ as a means to reduce air pollution and improve air quality. It has also partnered IIFA and roped in leading Bollywood celebrities to spread the cause of adopting cycling as a green transport mechanism.

Mr Pankaj Munjal, who has for several years actively campaigned for India’s cities to be made more bicycle friendly feels raising social awareness among people and increasing the acceptability of cycling among the urban elite is an important social initiative. He also advocates the need for transport and urban development policies to make roads safer and convenient for bicyclists.

About Hero Cycles:

Incorporated in 1956 in Ludhiana as a bicycle components maker, Hero Cycles Limited has accomplished a colossal journey to emerge as the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer by volume. Starting with a modest 639 bicycles per year, the company has been the undisputed market leader in India for 30 years and has been aggressively clocking a robust 11% growth in the Indian market. Hero Cycles has manufacturing units in Ludhiana (Punjab), Bihta (Bihar) & Ghaziabad (UP), giving it a total manufacturing capacity of 7.5 million bicycles per year. The highly integrated plant in Ludhiana alone produces 19,000 cycles every day.

The company has recently added another major manufacturing facility to its list, with a strategic acquisition of a plant in Sri Lanka, from where it aims to produce 1 million additional bicycles per annum by 2019. The umbrella of Hero Cycles group includes auto parts manufacturing, Hero Motors Ltd, ZF Hero Chassis Systems Pvt. Ltd, Munjal Kiriu Industries pvt. Ltd, Munjal Hospitality, and luxury home décor products company, Oma Livings.Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and the most modern machinery, Hero Cycles is today the leader in both the standard and specialist bicycle segments in India, with an overall market share of about 41 per cent.

With a clear intent of diversifying its product portfolio and market presence, the company entered the premium bicycle segment in 2012 with the launch of its new brand, UT Edge. Another step in this direction was the acquisition of 'Firefox Bikes' in 2015 which has further cemented the company’s position in the premium bicycle segment. Hero Cycles’ further expanded its presence in this category with the launch of Hero Sprint Pro, a new lifestyle biking product line recently. With these strategic moves, the company now commands dominance in the double-digit growing premium segment while continuing to maintain its leadership in the mass segment with over 45% share.A nation-wide distribution network of over 3000 dealers and favourable location of its plants near its vendors, supports the company’s operations, and facilitate the competitive pricing of its bicycles.

While diversifying its portfolio at home, Hero Cycles is also eyeing global expansion aggressively. Hero’s first overseas acquisition came in 2015 with the acquiring of UK-based Avocet Sports that marked its entry into high-end bicycle market in Europe. In March 2016, Hero Cycles acquired majority stake in Sri Lanka’s BSH Ventures,with an aim to use the manufacturing plant as its base for its rapidly growing European exports. The company already exports widely to countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.