Jaipur: The country’s largest largest two-wheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp Tuesday said it was not worried about the competition in the electric vehicle segment, asserting that more competition would mean more innovation in the space.
“…the more the competition, the more innovation will happen. And it’s good for the country as well… we should not look at just selling (EVs) in India. We should look at how India can sell EVs to the world,” Niranjan Gupta, CEO HeroMotoCorp, said.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the unveiling of the performance bike, Hero Mavrick 440.
Replying to a query on increasing competition in the EV segment, in which the company currently has one model, Vida, Gupta said, “EV (sector) is like a marathon and not a 100-metre race. Overall, EV is just 15 percent of the two-wheeler market right now. Within that, you have multiple players. (There will be) players who will have to consolidate and fold up. So, (in) the next three years (we) will see a churn in this segment, because obviously subsidies also cannot continue forever.”
Hero MotoCorp, he said, planned to bring three new electric two-wheelers in the next one year — one scooter each in the mid-price segment and in the economy segment, and one electric two-wheeler in the B2B last-mile delivery segment.
“In a marathon, seldom will you see that the winner is ahead in the first 100 metres. So honestly, EV is that race where we will do things right and what are we doing? We are ensuring that all infrastructure is built. I talked about stores, (for) charging infrastructure we have a tie-up with Ather. So, if you look at the entire story of the portfolio we are building, the stores, the charging infrastructure… I would say the game in EV has just started,” he said.
Sales of electric two-wheelers rose by 36 percent to 859,000 units last year, according to data from Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA). While Hero MotoCorp is a market leader in the petrol segment, it lags behind manufacturers such as Ola Electric, TVS Motor Company and Bajaj Auto in the electric two-wheeler segment.
On the company’s overall expansion plans, Gupta said Hero MotoCorp will look to expand in existing markets with focus on its top 10 markets such as Nigeria, Mexico and Bangladesh.
“…geopolitical issues will always be there… (in) one country one day and in another country another day… we have to do our job… we will accelerate or build scale rapidly in the top 10 markets… And the new market that we enter will be based on the size… So maybe Brazil, maybe one of the Southeast Asian markets…,” he added.
The company currently has presence in 50 markets globally.
Also read: EV sales to grow 40% in 2024 but govt must address concerns over charging infra, says Tata Motors MD
‘Potential is huge’
Talking about the entry-level two-wheeler market, which has seen sluggish demand, Gupta said the company expected this segment to bounce back in the next few quarters.
“What we see now from the data itself is that the consumer-confidence index is moving up very rapidly from that segment. We have seen green shoots in the festive season, where the percentage of people participating from that segment, the rural segment, has been higher as compared to the previous months… (then there is) the government’s capex programme. Now we know that we want the capex programme to result in income and employment, like overnight, but that doesn’t happen. (It) generates, in a longer term, employment and income. As we move forward, we do see over the next coming quarters that this segment will be bouncing back and there are green shoots already,” Gupta said.
Additionally, he added that the company was working on enhancing production capacity for its premium motorcycles, including Mavrick that is based on the 440 cc platform it has co-developed with Harley Davidson.
Hero MotoCorp will ramp up production of these bikes to 10,000 units per month by March, from 6,000 units in January. The company will open bookings for the Mavrick in February, deliveries for which will start in April.
Gupta said, “The market for roadsters is 800,000 units, and is growing. It should touch a million units in the next couple of years. The potential (in the segment) is huge.”
(The reporter was in Jaipur on the invitation of Hero MotoCorp.)
Also read: Army to procure 423 e-motorcycles, plans to ‘gradually convert’ its other vehicles to electric ones