NEW DELHI
Hero MotoCorp is planning a slew of strategic initiatives, including expansion of its footprint in electric mobility, enter new ICE vehicle categories and foray into Europe in 2024. The world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, which unveiled three concept vehicles and three production-ready vehicles at EICMA – the world’s largest two-wheeler expo, is working on extensive plans to take the eco-friendly, sustainable green manufacturing, fuel-efficient ICE products and technologically-advanced EVs, developed at its world-class research and development facilities in India and Germany, to various European markets.
“We are collaborating with highly credible partners in the UK, Spain, and France to start commercial operations in each of these markets by mid-2024,” says Niranjan Gupta, CEO, Hero MotoCorp. The company will first introduce the electric scooter VIDA V1 in these countries and then expand offerings with high-capacity premium ICE motorcycles and scooters, showcased at EICMA. The electric scooter, Hero MotoCorp’s first foray in the electric mobility space was launched in India in October 2022 and has a record for the greatest distance travelled by an electric scooter in 24 hours, covering 1,780 km (1,106.04 mi) in 24 hours. The company hopes to push its expertise in providing high-quality personal mobility solutions at accessible prices, in gaining customers across geographies. “Our aim is to “innovate and manufacture in India for the world and we are changing gears to swiftly move ahead towards this target,” adds Gupta.
Hero MotoCorp’s portfolio of high-capacity premium motorcycles includes the Concept 2.5R XTunt – which is a new category for the company, EV concepts – the Lynx and Acro. Both these products are a completely new take on urban mobility and have been developed at the company’s European R&D hub – the Tech Centre Germany, near Munich. The company has identified distributors for each of these countries and is in the process of finalizing the commercial agreements. In the UK, the nearly 40-year-old Motogb will be Hero MotoCorp’s distributor. The company is engaged in the retail and distribution of scooters/motorcycles and associated ancillaries and has an independent dealer network of approximately 150+ dealerships.
In France, GD France will be Hero MotoCorp’s distributor. With more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, GD France is a key player in the two and four-wheel mobility sector with more than 300 professional dealers. The group has entered the top 10 brands in 2023, amidst a very demanding market scenario. In Spain, Noria Motos, a subsidiary of Onex group, will be Hero MotoCorp’s distributor. Onex Group has been distributing two-wheeler brands for more than 35 years and are experts in introducing and establishing new brands in
the country.