Demand for 2-wheeler to remain sluggish in near-term: Hero

Despite the growth in the economy, Pawan Munjal of Hero MotoCorp expects demand to remain sluggish in the two-wheeler segment in the near-term. Speaking to CNBC-TV18’s Kritika Saxena on sideline of Resurgent Rajasthan, Munjal says the government is putting on various policies for middle and long term. However, he adds that the current state of economy is not conducive for the auto industry. Though, Hero MotoCorp saw a good festive season, it will be difficult to sustain such levels, he says. The company recorded retail sales of 10 lakh units during the 35-day festival season. Below is the transcript of Pawan Munjal’s interview with Kritika Saxena on CNBC-TV18. Q: How is the demand in the auto sector? A: I believe that the government is putting a lot of policy in place for middle to long-term. We want to see stuff happening here and now. The current state of economy is not the greatest, especially for our industry. Our industry is slow at the moment and within that, it is very slow in the rural markets which are very big for us. So, we really want to see stuff happening in those areas. Q: But when do you expect demand to pick up now. Given the fact that there has been slowdown across the board, by when can you expect some kind of pickup in terms of overall consumption? A: We had a great festive season during Diwali. Either the customers were waiting for this particular season to buy. I really do not see any indicators which tell me that the demand will pickup beyond the festive season now. I just hope that there is stuff done here and now for demand to pickup.  Q: But otherwise in the near-term, you are expecting it to be stagnant? A: There is growth in the industry, but very small growth. Q: And that will continue for the next near-term? A: It looks like that.