Hero Electric, M&M Partner for EV Production, Platform Development

Hero Electric on Wednesday said it has partnered with the Mahindra Group for electric vehicle mobility. As part of the collaboration, Mahindra Group will manufacture Hero Electric’s Optima and NYX electric models at its Pithampur plant.

With this partnership along with the expansion of their existing Ludhiana facility, Hero Electric will be able to meet its demand of manufacturing over 1 million EVs a year. The joint efforts will also be a key factor in developing a platform approach to help electrification of Peugeot Motorcycles in which’ M&M has a controlling stake, the company said in a statement.

Over the 5-year contract period, the value of the transaction is expected to be in the range of INR 140 – 150 crores.

Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric, said, “Hero Electric has been leading the Electric two-wheeler sector in the country. To further deepen its roots and strengthen the leadership, Hero Electric has announced a partnership with the Mahindra Group, which is leading the EV transition in the electric three and four-wheeler space.”

“This coming together of two industry leaders is to enhance the manufacturing capabilities to meet demand and utilize Mahindra Group’s robust supply chain to reach new centres in the country. The long-term partnership will also see both the companies make the most out of each other’s deep knowledge of EVs and drive new product development in the next few years. We look forward to creating more synergies with them in the near future,” he said.

Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director, auto and farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said, “Peugeot Motocycles has ambitious plans in the EV mobility space in several regions of the world and particularly in Europe. This strategic partnership will bolster these efforts through joint development and a platform sharing approach leveraging the combined strengths of the two businesses.”

“Our R&D Centre in India will be integral to this arrangement as will the manufacturing facility at Pithampur, which already supplies Peugeot EV products. I see significant value creation on a mutually beneficial basis and look forward to this partnership delivering on its obvious promise,” he said.