Hero Electric plans assembly unit

Bangalore: Hero Electric, the maker of electric scooters and a subsidiary of Hero Group, will set up an assembly unit at an undisclosed location in south India sometime next year. This plant is being set up to cater to the growing demand for its electric scooters in the region.

According to Naveen Munjal, managing director, Hero Electric, the company will first set up a warehouse in Hyderabad to stock electric scooters and distribute in southern states. The warehouse will come up later this year, he said.

'We have a definite plan for south India. We have just launched our electric scooters in major cities and once we reach a sales figure of 30,000 units per annum in the South, we will go for an assembly plant there. We expect this to happen next fiscal,' Munjal said.

Talking to reporters here today, he said the company is presently in the process of ramping up its production capacity at its Ludhiana plant to meet the growing demand for its scooters. Besides, it has also announced an investment of Rs 10 crore on R&D facility which will focus on development of innovative products in the electric vehicle segment.

In the South, the company has launched its electric scooters in major cities and in the second phase it is planning to launch them in tier-2 and tier-3 cities this year. In Karnataka, Hero Electric has already opened dealerships in Bangalore, Belgaum, Mysore, Hubli, Hospet among others and aims to open outlets in other tier 2 markets at the taluk level.

The company also plans to open its regional office in Bangalore shortly, Munjal told reporters here today.

'South India is an important market for us and we are looking to strengthen our sales network in the region. We have also set aside a marketing budget to train our dealers to educate customers on this relatively new and green technology,' Munjal said.

Hero Electric, which sold 6,000 units in Karnataka last year, is aiming at doubling the sales this year.