The Hindu Business Line : Hero Electric to invest Rs 80 cr for expansion

Kochi, May 12 Hero Electric, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Hero Group, has announced an investment of Rs 80 crore to boost its electric vehicles manufacturing plant in Ludhiana, besides the development of an R&D facility.

Mr Naveen Munjal, Managing Director, Hero Electric, said here on Monday that the company has been receiving encouraging response for its electric scooters and is aiming to achieve a sales target of 70,000 units in the current fiscal as against 20,000 units sold in 2007-08.

Mr Munjal, here in connection with the launch of Hero Electric vehicles in the State, pointed out that the electric vehicle market segment, which is in the range of 60-70,000 units in the country, is expected to touch 1,70,000 units this year on account of the increase in petrol prices. To leverage the growth happenings in the electric vehicle segment, he said that the company also had plans to launch a new range of electric scooters in the low and high speed category in July.

To cater to the increasing demand of electric vehicle models of Hero, the company had doubled its production capacity in Ludhiana factory from 220 units to 440 a day across two shifts.

Hero Electric will also invest on training dealers to educate consumers on the benefits and features of electric vehicles, as they are cost effective and environmental friendly, he added.

South potential

Referring to the Kerala market, Mr Munjal said that the company with a market share of 50 per cent has set a sales target of 6,000 units as against 2,000 units sold last year. The company had also plans to approach the Kerala Government to get subsidies for electric vehicles similar to that given by other States.

“We have identified the southern States as high potential territories for our electric vehicles and we foresee accelerated growth in these markets. We are doubling our dealership network in the South to reach out to a wider segment of people, not only in big cities but also in Tier II towns, where our electric vehicles are increasingly gaining popularity,” Mr Munjal said.

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