Hero Electric Set To Expand Over The Next Couple Of Years

Projects exponential increase, plans to set up multiple manufacturing facilities to meet demand

Hero Electric is banking high on the future of electric two-wheelers in India. The company currently has a major presence in the electric two-wheeler market, with projected sales of more than 25,000 units this year as compared to 15,000 units last year. With the recent government push towards electric vehicles and ongoing growth in electric mobility technology, Hero Electric envisions a ten-time increase in sales. In fact, the company expects sales to grow three times over the next few years. Increasing exports will also be contributing to this number, considering Hero Electric’s presence in 32 countries.

With the growing number of sales, Hero Electric will be ramping up its production to meet demands. Hero Electric has a manufacturing facility in Ludhiana with an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles.

Naveen Munjal, Managing Director of Hero Electric, told PTI that the company projects a ten-time increase in sales in the next five years. In order to keep up, it plans to set up multiple smaller facilities across India instead of one larger manufacturing factory. This move will provide Hero Electric access to different regional markets and also keep transportation costs down. Currently, plans are underway for a new manufacturing facility with an annual capacity of 50,000 units. Hero Electric intends to set up a plant in the southwest region, preferably near a port. This would make it easier to push export numbers as well.

The electric two-wheeler market is only set to increase henceforth. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been quite forthright in his opinion about fossil fuel vehicles and has, in his way, given auto manufacturers an ultimatum to move towards manufacturing electric and hybrid vehicles. Bajaj promises to do a Tesla in the Indian two-wheeler space with its ‘Urbanite’ project. TVS has been working on an electric scooter based on the Jupiter, and it recently bought a stake in Ultraviolette Automotive, an electric startup. In fact, even Hero MotoCorp has invested in Aether Energy. With big players focussing on the electric two-wheeler scene, the future for electric bikes seems bright.