Hero rides into TT

Indian High Commissioner Bishwadip Dey; Joshua Ramdehol, general manager, Hero Caribbean; Dr Deepak Pandey and Aniruddha Das, both second secretary at the Indian High Commission; and Damion Richards, Hero country manager at the official launch of Hero Motocorp operations in TT.
Indian High Commissioner Bishwadip Dey; Joshua Ramdehol, general manager, Hero Caribbean; Dr Deepak Pandey and Aniruddha Das, both second secretary at the Indian High Commission; and Damion Richards, Hero country manager at the official launch of Hero Motocorp operations in TT.

Hero Motocorp officially launched its operations in TT last Thursday evening at Xperience Event Centre on Woodford Street, Newtown, Port of Spain.

The venue will also be Hero’s first dealership and showroom location, and houses its service centre, with a goal to having at least five more distribution locations throughout TT by the end of 2019.

In 2001, Hero MotoCorp Ltd (formerly Hero Honda Motors Ltd) achieved the coveted position of being the largest two-wheeler manufacturing company in India and also, the world’s number one two-wheeler company in terms of unit volume sales in a calendar year, and continues to maintain this position to date.

At the launch, Bishwadip Dey, Indian High Commissioner to TT expressed his happiness at seeing the Hero brand now in TT. He said, “In a time where fuel prices are rising and traffic in Trinidad is very congested, this might be an ideal mode of transportation and I am in full support of this venture.”

He added: “During the '80s, Hero became the first company in India to prove that it was possible to drive a vehicle without polluting the roads. The company introduced new generation motorcycles that set industry benchmarks for fuel thrift and low emission. A legendary ‘Fill it – Shut it – Forget it’ campaign captured the imagination of commuters across India, and Hero sold millions of bikes purely on the commitment of increased mileage. Over 20 million Hero two-wheelers tread Indian roads today. That is more than the number of people in Guyana, Jamaica, Cuba and Trinidad put together.” Guests chuckled at this revelation.

Hero Hunk200

Dey also spoke of the numerous CSR initiatives which have positively impacted the lives of the Indian people, saying he hopes those initiatives will also be adopted by Hero Motorcorp TT.

Damion Richards, Hero country manager, then spoke of Hero’s introduction to the Caribbean.

He said: “Hero MotoCorp became the title sponsor of the Twenty20 cricket league in the Caribbean for the first time in 2015, but Hero has long been a key partner of marquee events in various disciplines of sports including cricket, soccer, field hockey and golf in India and across the globe. Fourteen-time major winner Tiger Woods is Hero's global corporate partner. Hero is also a partner of the Tiger Woods Foundation and hosts the marquee Hero World Challenge golf tournament at Albany in the Bahamas, with participation from 18 top golfers in the world.”

Richards said Hero MotoCorp's mission is to become a global enterprise fulfilling its customers' needs and aspirations for mobility, setting benchmarks in technology, styling and quality so that it converts its customers into its brand advocates. “The company will provide an engaging environment for its people to perform to their true potential. It will continue its focus on value creation and enduring relationships with its partners.”

General manager, Hero Caribbean, Joshua Ramdehol, told guests when Hero first came to the region, Guyana to be exact in September 2017, they introduced four models: the hunk 150, dawn 150, glamour 125cc and dash 110cc.

Since then Hero has sponsored local football youth tournaments, community developments, introduced cricket events to orphanages, and local softball cricket tournaments such as the Prime Minister's Cup in Guyana.

This year, Ramdehol said, during the last CPL tournament Hero celebrated its one-year anniversary by visiting Shaheed’s orphanage with Guyana Amazon Warriors players Christopher Green and Shimron Hetmyer, who donated back-to-school packages and cricket gear to the kids.

He stated: “I will do everything is my capacity to make Hero successful but sometimes the number of motorcycles imported isn’t the singular answer for whether to invest in a new country or not. Other factors suggest that Trinidad should have lots of motorcycles on the road and that Hero can be very successful here, one such factor is definitely the traffic, cost inefficiency of motor car transportation.

"Many couriers are using cars for delivery when quality affordable bikes can be the cheaper alternative, and those who are already using bikes are using either inferior bikes with high maintenance or very expensive bikes.”

The Guyanese-born manager closed saying that TT is a beautiful country and that he is happy for the support he received in TT from CPL, the business sector, the government sector and even from strangers. “The support of this venture from Trinidadians comes from a genuine place and makes me feel at home in both my personal life and commerce.”

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