Hero MotoCorp setting up plant in Colombia.

The world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd., is expanding its reach to Latin America by constructing a manufacturing plant in Colombia.

The company will invest $78 million in the venture, of which $38 million would be capex with the rest being working capital.

The plant, which will come up at Villa Rica, Cauca, about 500 km South West of Bogota, will be operational by the middle of next financial year with a capacity to produce 78,000 units and going up to 150,000 units in phases.

In a communication to the stock exchanges, Hero MotoCorp said its entry into the Latin American market signified a 'definitive leap into the next level of our global foray'.

With presence across 19 countries in Asia, Africa and South and Central America, Hero MotoCorp said it was establishing a string of manufacturing facilities across the globe to serve 'existing and newer markets''.

The factory coming up at at Villa Rica in Colombia was the 'first full-fledged plant by an Indian two-wheeler manufacturer in Latin America'', the company said.

HBL