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Hero Electric, India’s largest electric two-wheeler manufacturer, plans to garner 35 per cent of its sales from the B2B segment in the next four years, up from the 8-9 per cent it currently contributes, said Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric.
“B2B is a very important segment for us. We are targeting that segment very well. We need to have stronger products catering to B2B. We have strengths in the B2B segment, (but) we still need far more work to be done in this segment,” Munjal told BusinessLine.
In a bid to alleviate the range anxiety that is common when it comes to adoption of EVs, Hero Electric is also installing charging stations. Having already installed around 700 such stations, it is looking to add around 20,000 across the country in the next two years. This is even as Hero Electric offers modular or portable batteries which can be charged at home. “This (charging stations) is a dense charging infrastructure. A lot of customers don’t actually use it, but it’s solely there to give them comfort — that should they get stranded and running out of charge, this is what they can do. So, it is more of a confidence-building (measure) than anything else,” explained Munjal.
Apart from this, an expansion of dealerships is also on the cards, said Munjal. It is planning to double its dealerships to over 1000 dealerships in the next two years.
Online drive
A hybrid model of sales with a focus on both online and offline platforms, promotional offers online to stimulate demand, home delivery of vehicles with a three-day return policy, a push on B2B sales, the installation of charging stations and training of over 6,000 roadside mechanics on EVs were some of the measures Hero Electric undertook amid the pandemic.
On the kind of traction these measures have brought about, Munjal said that Hero Electric’s online sales this year has seen a 10x growth compared to last year. “We are on track to grow this year over last year — we will be a larger number than what we were last year. We will be growing over last year in spite of the first few months of the pandemic and the lockdown and the supply chain disruptions. Even now, supply chains are suffering because of the various things that happened like the farmer agitations in Punjab and Haryana — so there are issues which exist. But nevertheless, we are seeing an upward trend, that’s for sure.”
EV adoption
Last year, Hero Electric sold around 50,000 EVs. “The market for electric (two-wheelers) is now getting to a stage where it is going to become extremely relevant. We are seeing a growth over last year, people are looking at electric mobility more seriously than what they were looking at earlier. They are looking at moving away from public transport. They are looking at personal mobility, personal vehicles, and within personal mobility, they’re also looking at ease of use,” said Munjal.
The overall electric two-wheeler industry is also poised to post a growth over last year, he said.
“The time is right, from an environmental standpoint, from an accessibility standpoint and from every way that you look at it. And also, of course, the most important part is that the total cost of ownership has always been low, but now the pricing is also very aggressive ( closer to the price of ICE two-wheelers),” he said.
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