Barely four months after ending its joint venture with the UK-based Ultra Motors, Hero Electric is set to foray into high-speed electric two-wheelers that will help the company to directly compete with lead players such as Electrotherm and TVS Motors. Currently, the company is present in the low-speed segment that includes scooters with speed less than 25 km per litre and 250 watt power.
“We will introduce a high-speed variant of Maxi, the company’s most successful model, in two months, followed by two more models in the second half of this fiscal,” says Naveen Munjal, managing director, Hero Electric. He added that the new models would help the company achieve its targeted sales of 65,000 units this fiscal. The company had sold 21,000 units in the last fiscal, while the total sales of electric two-wheelers were between 70,000 to 75,000 units.
The electric two-wheeler market in India is dominated by Electrotherm’s YO Bikes and TVS Scooty Teenz Electric launched in February this year. With various sates offering a subsidy on electric vehicles, including the 29.5% subsidy by the Delhi government on April 18, there has been a huge demand for e-vehicles. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, Electrotherm registered a growth of 33.15% at 2,217 units in July this year, against 1,665 units in the same month last year. TVS Motors, the new entrant into the segment, sold 1,030 units last month.
Hero Electric, a division of Hero Cycles, has come up with preferred garage owners or bike charging stations, beginning with Delhi. “We have five such stations in Delhi and this would be scaled up to 100 by mid-September, followed by a nationwide roll out,” says Munjal.
After the recent launch of Optima Plus, Hero Electric has nine models in its portfolio. It is on the verge of phasing out four old models of electric mopeds, including Hi Moto, Flash, Easy and Dash.
The company has earmarked an investment of Rs 80 crore this fiscal. This will include setting up an assembly unit in south India, expansion of its dealer network and an investment of Rs 10 crore in R&D.
“The company is working on plans to set up a complete R&D facility in the six-to-eight months that will include a mechanical and an electrical R&D division, as well as a design centre,” Munjal said. He added that it would help the company increase the level of indigenisation from 35% now, to more than 80% by 2009-10.
?(The tour for this story was sponsored by Hero Electric)
