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Global cycling major Hero Cycles, which recently entered the electric bicycle segment, on Wednesday, announced a strategic alliance with Yamaha Motor Co Ltd and Japan’s Mitsui & Co for technology, manufacturing and marketing of Hero electric bicycle powered by Yamaha electric drive unit.
The announcement was made at Yamaha Motors headquarters in Iwata, Japan, by Hero Motors Company (HMC) Chairman Pankaj M Munjal, Yamaha Motor’s Executive General Manager (SPV Business Unit) Mitsuyoshi Sunakawa, and Mitsui’s General Manager (Third Motor Vehicles Division) Yuji Tokunaga.
E-mobility push
“The partnership has been formed with a forward-looking plan which includes development of new e-mobility products jointly by Hero and Yamaha, with go-to-market sales, distribution and marketing support by Mitsui & Co. Ltd,” said Munjal.
The first product for India to roll out from this alliance would be a high-end E-MTB. This segment has seen the fastest growth in Europe last year, according to a company statement.
The announcement comes in the wake of other initiatives recently announced by Hero Cycles, including the “Cycle Valley” project which is proposed to be set up in Ludhiana and serve as a hub for end-to-end supply chain of the bicycle industry. The Cycle Valley would be led by Hero Cycles as the anchor investor and will create an ecosystem of suppliers in joint ventures with global bicycle component makers.
Capacity, exports
Hero Cycles Ltd. is the flagship company of the Hero Motors Company (HMC) Group, and is the world’s largest integrated bicycle manufacturer by volume, manufacturing and selling more than 19,000 bicycles every day. Firefox Bikes India, Avocet Sports UK and BSH Ventures Sri Lanka are the other bicycles entities of this company.
Incorporated in 1956, Hero Cycles is the largest cycle manufacturer in the world, with a manufacturing capacity of 7.5 million bicycles per year. The company has an integrated plant in Ludhiana, Ghaziabad (UP) and Bihta (Bihar) and a manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka.
Hero Cycles has an overall market share of about 35 per cent and a nation-wide distribution network with over 3,000 dealers. It also exports to various countries in West Asia, Africa, Asia and Europe.
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