Hero MotoCorp discontinues 50 BS-IV variants of Splendor, HF Delux, Glamour motorcycles and Pleasure scooters

Ahead of a shift from Bharat Stage-IV to BS-VI, the world’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp has discontinued more than 50 variants of their BS-IV vehicles, and has constituted an interim council to look after the transition to the next emission norm, a top-level official told Tech2, on the condition of anonymity. Among the models that will get discontinued are BS-IV variants of Splendor, HF Delux, Glamour motorcycles, and Pleasure scooters, in an effort to migrate completely to the new emission era. [caption id=“attachment_4383229” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  2018 Hero Super Splendor[/caption] “The Company has informed its dealers in an email sent earlier this week that production of more than 50 SKUs of its BS-IV range of products has been stopped. The email also mentioned that Hero MotoCorp would soon stop manufacturing more BS-IV models, and rapidly scale up the production of BS-VI vehicles,” the official said. (Also read: Auto sector slowdown: Hero MotoCorp comes out with voluntary retirement scheme for employees ) The Indian government has given automakers a **deadline of March 31, 2020 to shift to BS-VI vehicles** , as companies won’t be allowed to sell vehicles with older emission standards from April 1. The company has set up an interim council as Sanjay Bhan, Head of Sales, After-Sales and Parts has resigned from Hero MotoCorp ahead of the transition. The interim council will have multiple department heads, including Malo Le Masson, head of global product planning and Niranjan Gupta, Chief Financial Officer. “The interim office will look after sales, and after-sales during the transition period,” said the official. “The company has set up an interim council that will oversee the sales and after-sales function as Bhan has been relinquished from his duties to pursue opportunities outside of Hero MotoCorp,” the official said. (Also read:  Hero MotoCorp unveils initiative to deliver bikes, scooters at customer doorstep at nominal charge ) “The interim council, which comprises Hero’s leadership team and will be operational from December 13, will play an important role to guide, support and handhold the sales and after-sales team to migrate the entire inventory to BS-VI well before the deadline of March 31, 2020,” the official said. Meanwhile, Hero MotoCorp is ramping up its BS-VI variants. It recently launched the BS-VI compliant Splendor iSmart, the first BS-VI motorcycle to be introduced in the country. “The company’s post-festive inventory levels are already at a two-year low, putting it in good space for the transition,” said the official.