HERO ELECTRIC is one of the oldest and India’s Largest Electric two-wheeler company and has been at the forefront of the electric 2-wheeler industry. The company’s manufacturing unit is in Ludhiana, and it sells a wide range of electric scooters catering to a wide spectrum of customers. Hero Electric currently has over 750 (and rapidly expanding) sales and service outlets spread across the country along with a widespread charging network and trained roadside mechanics on EVs. It has a lot of firsts in the industry ranging from developing and launching the first lithium ion based electric scooters in India to launching the unique concept of charging stations for anywhere, everywhere charging. With over 4.5 lakh electric two-wheelers in India, the company has been delivering sustainable travel solutions over the past 15 years and counting & has played a crucial role in developing and promoting the EV market in the country.
The Mahindra Group is one of the largest and most admired multinational federation of companies with 260,000 employees in over 100 countries. It enjoys a leadership positioning farm equipment, utility vehicles, information technology and financial services in India and is the world’s largest tractor company by volume. It has a strong presence in renewable energy, agriculture, logistics, hospitality and real estate.
The Mahindra Group has a clear focus on leading ESG globally, enabling rural prosperity and enhancing urban living, with a goal to drive positive change in the lives of communities and stakeholders to enable them to Rise.
Hero Electric, the country’s largest electric two-wheeler firm, has tied up with the Mahindra group to manufacture electric bikes amid rising demand for such vehicles in the country. The strategic partnership will see the Mahindra group manufacturing Hero Electric’s Optima & NYX at its Pitampur plant to meet the growing demands of the market. While the contract is for a tenure of five years, value of the transaction is expected to be Rs 140-150 crore.
The areas of agreement also include joint product development & knowledge sharing and electrification of Peugeot Motorcycles’ portfolio (acquired by the Mahindra group in 2019) through platform sharing.
“Hero Electric has announced a partnership with the Mahindra Group, which is leading the EV transition in the electric three and four wheelers space…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,” Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric said.
The joint development efforts will also be a key factor in developing the platform approach to help electrification of the Peugeot Motocycles’ portfolio. This is expected to bring significant value to both parties through optimization of costs, timelines, and shared knowledge in this dynamic, fast growing global EV environment.
Sharing his views on this partnership, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “Peugeot Motocycles has ambitious plans in the EV mobility space in many regions of the world and especially in Europe. This strategic partnership will fuel these efforts through a vision of sharing a platform for joint growth and leveraging the combined strengths of the two businesses.”
The two companies will create a seamless channel of communication to aid knowledge sharing among the R&D teams to build new products and technologies, the partners stated.