Munjals-promoted component maker Hero Motors today said it has formed a joint venture with Germany's ZF-Lemforder and plans to invest Rs 80 crore over the next couple of years to operationalise two facilities for manufacturing auto parts for four-wheelers.

The JV -- ZF Hero Chassis Systems Pvt Ltd -- has been formed after acquisition of 50 per cent stake in Hero Motors' Chassis Systems by the German company for an undisclosed sum.

"We will invest Rs 80 crore over the next two years to set up two new plants in Gurgaon and Chennai to cater respectively to the Northern and Southern markets," Hero Motors Managing Director Pankaj Munjal told reporters here.

He said the investment for the plants will come from the JV company's internal accruals and debts.

The JV company is starting with two Hero Motors' plants at Talegoan (Maharashtra) and Halol (Gujarat) with an annual installed capacity for assembling 1.6 lakh units of chassis and axle systems.

"The two new plants will take our total capacity to 4.5 lakh units. We will start with focus on the small car segment and then diversify into bigger cars," Munjal said, adding that the target customers will be domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Hero Motors, subsidiary of the USD 4.5 billion Hero Group, has already invested around Rs 4.6 crore for the two plants in Halol and Talegoan since acquiring them from US-based component maker Delphi in 2008.