Hero Electric to set up 20,000 EV charging stations

Competition is heating up further in the dynamic electric scooter market, with Hero Electric gearing up to double their sales this year. The company, which has over 3.5 lakh electric vehicles (EVs) on the road currently, has also proposed to set up 20,000 charging stations nationwide, beginning August.

Hero Electric, which holds a 36% market share, sold over 53,500 EVs in the 2020-21 financial year. “This is a break-out year for the EV ecosystem with the Centre’s policy extending the subsidy further. This is the first time that they have broken the shackles by increasing the subsidy cap from 20% to 40%. EV prices are now very affordable,” the company’s managing director Sohinder Gill told DH.

In the wake of rising fuel costs, he sees a definite shift in consumer preference for electric scooters. To prepare and address the rising demand, Hero has proposed to invest about Rs 700 crore over the next four years to expand their existing facility. The objective is to boost manufacturing capacity to over 10 lakh EVs from the existing 70,000 per year.

For intra-city EV commute, range anxiety could be addressed through both charging stations and charging sockets.

Gill explains: “These sockets with 100 charging points can work wonders. We have already installed 5,000 of them in the south, and will be soon available on the website and FAME app.”

Robust service network

Availability of a robust service network is equally important for the consumer, he notes. “To address this, we are setting up a range of Preferred Garage Owners (PGOs). Within a 20km radius of our dealers’ exclusive showrooms, we identified two-wheeler mechanics, trained them to become our authorised EV servicemen. This network will also show up on the app.”

In Karnataka, Hero Electric’s network has been primarily focused on Business2Business (B2B) customers. “Next month, we are rolling out our doorstep service. We are entering into a contract with our B2B customers in the state, who collectively own about 900 vehicles. These are mostly into deliveries,” says Gill.

A study of the intra-city commute electric scooter market had convinced Hero that the average customer demand was for affordable vehicles with a range of about 80-100 km per charge. “Our core strategy was focussed on a city-speed mobility solution that gave 45 kmph and a range between 80 and 200km. Our e-scooters can comfortably seat two people and are equipped with lightweight, portable batteries.”