Munjal owned Hero Group and Japanese auto maker Honda have decided to call it quits for their partnership in India, says a report by BS Motoring today. The partnership had already been sailing on choppy waters and now the final chapter of their partnership is to be published. Hero Group and Honda Motors shook hands in 1980s when it entered Indian market along with Yamaha and Suzuki. Both the other Japanese auto makers have their independent branding in India but Honda had stuck with Hero group apart from also maintaining its own identity, something that may have contributed to the friction.
In today's scenario, Indian market has opened up and foreign direct investments have been welcomed by the government making investments an easy path for foreign investors. Thus, Foreign Companies have realised lesser need for having an Indian partners whose major role ever since the age of license raj had been to get government clearances and provide insight into the local market. Indian partners had less to do with marketing strategies or business acumen even then.
With the changing Indian economy, Indian auto market, Indian buying pattern and opening up of Indian mindset for newer products plus an ecstatic boom in the Indian auto market, global auto makers have decided to establish their own identity rather than sharing the moolah for the hard work and quality. Hero Group and Honda divorce comes as yet another result from the same growing idea.
