Hero eMaestro Electric Scooter To Launch Soon

The upcoming electric scooter will compete with the Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube

• It is based on the Hero Maestro Edge petrol scooter. 
• Gets LED headlamp, digital instrument console. 
• Could borrow Ather’s electric powertrain. 

Hero MotoCorp showcased an electric scooter prototype at the 2020 Hero World. The eMaestro Proto concept uses the Maestro Edge’s bodywork and underpinnings but could have a different frame to accommodate the battery pack and electric motor. According to sources, the electric scooter is in the final stage of testing, so we could see Hero launching the eMaestro by mid-2020. 

While the bodywork is identical to the Maestro Edge, the scooter gets a white paintjob with copper coloured wheels, forks and transmission cover. While the tail lamp assembly is the same as the Maestro Edge, the eMaestro gets an LED headlamp and keyless ignition. Instead of the conventional scooter’s semi-digital instrument console, this one has a full digital display. Hero says the eMaestro will get cloud connectivity. It is important to note that Hero MotoCorp owns a sizeable stake in Bangalore based electric start-up Ather Energy. So it is safe to assume that Hero could use technology from the Ather 450X in the eMaestro. 

Hero has not revealed much about the electric motor or battery pack except for that it will use a powerful permanent magnet motor and state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery pack. Interestingly, the Ather 450X also uses a permanent magnet synchronous (PMS) electric motor with peak power rated at 6kW and torque at 26Nm. There is a high possibility that the eMaestro could share the Ather 450X’s electric powertrain and lithium-ion battery pack. They could tune it to offer less performance and more range. For reference, the Ather 450X offers a true range of 85km. 

Hero has equipped the eMaestro with reverse mode as well. Interestingly instead of a switch, the Hero eMaestro gets twist grip action on the left handlebar that allows you to swap between Ride, Neutral and Reverse modes. This action is quite similar to yesteryears Chetak and Vespa scooters but not as clunky. 

In terms of pricing, we expect the Hero eMaestro to cost around Rs 1 lakh. This would allow the eMaestro to undercut both its direct rivals -- the Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube. 

Source