Hero Electric Raises More Than $22 million To Expand Indian Operations
Hero Electric, India’s largest electric two-wheeler maker has raised Rs 160 crores or $ 22.2 million from Mumbai-based investment management group Alpha Capital Advisors. This was its first fund raising exercise through equity sale and Alpha capital got a ‘significant minority stake’ in the automobile electric arm.
“Part of the funds will be used in setting up manufacturing facilities, marketing purposes, new products and R&D. We are setting up a new plant in the south. We already have a facility in Ludhiana, but logistics costs in moving products to the south is very high. We already have a warehouse in Hosur, Tamil Nadu and it makes sense to have a manufacturing plant also there,” Naveen Munjal, Managing Director, Hero Electric, said.
Hero Electric will focus on India-centric, flexible and cost-effective innovations that will drive the growth of electric mobility. 2018 has been important for Hero Electric-it unveiled a line-up of its global products in India and transitioned its entire product portfolio to lithium-ion battery-powered two-wheelers. It now plans to launch more key products in a phased manner.
“Aligning with the Union government’s vision for electric mobility, Hero Electric has been a pioneer in developing a range of best-in-class electric 2 and 3 wheelers. This fund infusion will help us diversify our product portfolio, acquire new technology and focus on strengthening our research and development capabilities to achieve a certain rate of localisation. Progress in all these areas will help accelerate Hero Electric’s already robust growth,” added Naveen Munjal.
Over the past decade, Hero Electric has launched 15 electric two-wheelers in India. With 45% share of the country’s electric two-wheeler market, the firm leads India’s electric mobility revolution. The automaker is also mulling to export its two-wheelers from next year onwards to various regions including countries in Asia and Africa.
Hero Electric puts off launch plans of high-performance scooter
Hero Electric was planning to launch another high end, fully electric scooter codenamed ALXHE-20, but concerns over the prohibitively high end-cost of above 1.5 Lakhs has led the Delhi-based company to temporarily halt its commercial launch plans for the scooter.
Powered by a 6,000 watt electric motor (8.15ps) ALXHE-20 has a top speed of 80km/hour, which is nearly twice Hero’s mass market product Photon. The ALXHE-20 has a range of 110 km on a full charge compared to 80 km for the Photon, which is priced at Rs 47,000.
Last year, Hero Electric clocked sales of 30,000 units in India. It crossed that level in September and hopes to end the year at 50,000 units. Next year, the company is targeting sales of 75,000-85,000 units. Now it is has plans to generate volumes through the sale of affordable electric scooters.
Picture Credit: Hero Electric
