Hero Honda, world's largest motorcycle maker by volume, is giving considerable thoughts to adding fourth plant to its portfolio banking on the high rural sales and its planned exports to Africa. While the Munjals-promoted company will be deciding over the unit in the coming six months, the bike maker is all set touch the 4.5 million mark by the end of the current fiscal.

The company's in-depth reach in the rural parts of the country has kept it almost slowdown-proof as it touched record sales month after month while the counterparts were busy taking care of the bleeding bottom-lines.

The company is also expecting to take the figure of 40% rural sales out of its overall unit sales to 50% by the end of next fiscal. While the decision to export to Africa still subject to the approval of its partner Honda Motor Company but till now, Hero Honda is still a laggard as compared to Bajaj in exports.

Hero Honda only exports to countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Columbia which accounts for 2.2% of its total sales. Bajaj on the other end, exports its products to countries like Nigeria, Angola, Uganda and Kenya accounting for almost 33% of the total sales.