Hero MotoCorp has announced that Italy’s Engines Engineering will be its third technology partner for its future model portfolio.
This comes close on the heels of its tie-ups with the US-based EBR and Austria’s AVL for engine and bike development earlier this year.
Industry sources said that given Engines Engineering’s end-to-end product development capability, Hero is likely to pick up a significant stake in the firm soon. The design company, boasts of clients such as Honda, Yamaha and Ducati.
“The Bologna-based firm will impart technological know-how in terms of superior designing for the future products,” a Hero statement said.
The two-wheeler market leader’s new tie-up is interesting given the fact that another homegrown automaker, Mahindra & Mahindra, had a controlling 70 per cent stake in Engines Engineering till recently.
Mahindra, which had bought the stake in 2008, sold it back to the promoter, Alberto Strazzari, this February.
Pawan Munjal, Hero’s MD & CEO said last week that the three technology tie-ups would “create an extended arm” of its own R&D centre being set up at Jaipur, Rajasthan.