India’s largest electric two-wheeler maker by volume, Hero Electric, has announced that it will expand its production capacity at the Ludhiana plant owing to the growing demand. The company had already announced that its plans to add production capacities of one million every year with a target to manufacture over five million electric two-wheelers per year by 2026. The latest update fast tracks that plan with the additional capacity to be increased to five lakh units by March 2022 and to one million every year.
Speaking on the development, Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric said, “The last few months have set the tone for the next few years to come. An extremely conducive environment given the new policies and subsidies which is supporting in growing awareness among consumers. This has also led to a tremendous shift in the industry that has directly led to a growth in demand for EV two-wheelers. We are hence ramping up our production facilities to manufacture over 5 lakh vehicles and will go on to expand to add capacities to make over 1 million vehicles every year, year on year to meet the growing demand. We at Hero are extremely bullish about the market and are looking forward to a new era of electric mobility.”
Adding to it, Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric said, “At Hero, we have always believed that the growth in the industry is going to see a hockey stick curve someday and the numbers from the last few months is an index of what is in store. We are witnessing huge walk-ins at our dealerships and are working overtime to avoid stockout situations and long waiting lists. We believe the customer is now actively considering buying Hero E-Bikes as a practical and viable alternative to petrol bikes because of attractive sticker price and ‘best in class’ savings in the total cost of ownership. We are therefore redrawing our business plans to retain the leadership position that we have held all these years.”
Hero Electric says it has seen tremendous growth in the ‘City Speed’ segment since the unlock period in June 2021. The company also reported a surge in sales during the months of July and August with consistent growth in market share. Furthermore, the manufacturer says the FAME II subsidy amendment and state EV policies further helped lower prices on its offerings. The company’s current range starts at ₹ 53,600 (ex-showroom, post-subsidy).
Hero Electric has also been working to expand its presence pan India with new experience centres and dealerships. The company aims to introduce new and exclusive showrooms in major cities over the next few months. Back in June this year, the EV maker announced its Series B round of funding to drive the expansion. The new investment would be used for expanding production, presence, as well as R&D efforts. Hero Electric has launched over 15 electric two-wheelers over the past decade. The product line-up caters to both private and the B2B segment in the country.