First Batch Of Hero Electric E-Scooters Rolls Out From Mahindra Stable At Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh

Automobile major Hero Electric made an announcement on July 4 that its strategic partnership with Mahindra group has finally taken the shape of e-scooters. The first batch will be rolled out from the stable of Mahindra Group in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh. Both the companies had entered into a five-year partnership to cater to the growing demand for electric two wheelers in the country. The company has set the target of selling half a million e-scooters.

Intended to complement each other, the strategic alliance laid down that Hero Electric will manufacture two of its e-bikes –Optima and NYX — at Mahindra‘s Pithampur plant. Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric said, “We strongly believe in like-minded strategic partnerships to offer “true value for money” products in electric mobility. Our 20 plus strong relationships with preferred partners in the field of charging, servicing, rapid charging, swapping etc are helping us build a robust EV ecosystem not only for us but for the whole EV category,”.

Gill added that the company is proud of its alliance with Mahindra because both the teams have become one for seamless integration of the manufacturing process. A customer will not find any difference in a product whether he buys it from Ludhiana or Pithampur. “With this tie up, we are now well on our way to the half a million capacity that we had planned a few months back,” he said.

The e-scooters have created a market across the globe in search of green energy transition in spite of local hiccups here and there. The recent spate of EV battery fires has cast a shadow on the surge in demand in India. Many have begun to recall their vehicles because a probe into the fires has revealed that the EV batteries were scrambled and faultily designed without a bare minimum safety.

On the other hand, the increased production of electric two-wheelers and expansion of the charging facilities network, the Asia Pacific region is estimated to be the largest electric scooter and motorcycle market, with a share of 86% in 2022 by volume. The market growth in the region can also be attributed to the rising demand for energy-efficient commuting along with several initiatives by private organizations as well as governments.

The Indian government is taking initiatives such as FAME-II, offering subsidies and tax exemptions to buyers to promote electric two-wheelers in the country. The government has also extended the FAME II scheme for two years, applicable till March 31, 2024, which was previously launched from 2019 to March 31, 2022. Under this scheme, necessary charging infrastructure would also be set up for electric vehicles. The government has also increased the subsidy incentives from Rs 10,000 per kWh to Rs 15,000 per kWh under the scheme.

The global electric scooter and motorcycle market is dominated by major players such as Yadea Group Holdings Ltd. (China), Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle Co., Ltd. (China), NIU International (China), Silence Urban Ecomobility (Spain), Zhejiang Luyuan Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd (China) and Hero Electric (India).