The battle for market leadership in India's nascent electric scooters is growing into an internecine war between two branches of a family. Close on the heels of the Hero MotorCorp investing $56 million in Ather Energy, its rival Hero Electric announced a joint venture with Mahindra Electric for manufacturing electric two-wheelers.
The joint venture, valued at around $20 million (approx. Rs.150 crore) would be for five years and targets production of a million electric vehicles annually by the end of 2022. Part of the funds would go to modernize and expand the manufacturing unit at Ludhiana where Hero Electric began its journey 15 years ago.
Late last week, Hero MotorCorp announced that it would invest $56 million (approx. Rs.420 crore) in Ather Energy in more than one tranche though neither of the two entities shared how the funds would be spent. Ather Energy had ramped up output at its Hosur (Tamil Nadu) plant late last year and is also planning an electric scooter in the sub-Rs.1 lakh price range.
The Mahindra-Hero JV - what does it mean?
Readers would recall that Mahindra, one of India's oldest automakers, entered the EV segment through the acquisition route. It acquired Bangalore-based REVA Electric Car Company, which was a joint venture between a local venture called Maini Group and the Amerigon Electric Vehicle Technologies of the United States.
The company had launched the Mahindra e20 as its first electric hatchback in India and in March 2013. It came with a lithium-ion battery that takes five hours for a full charge and delivers a range of 100-km with a top speed of 90kph. Mahindra's second electric car eVerito was launched in 2016 and two years later it launched a series of three-wheeler goods transport vehicles under the Treo moniker.
Details of the joint venture between Mahindra Electric and Hero Electric indicates that the EV passenger carmaker would utilise idle capacity at its Pithampur facility in Madhya Pradesh to manufacture select two-wheeler models. In a statement to the media, Hero Electric managing director Naveen Munjal said the partnership would help the company expand its network to new locations and fulfil pent-up demand.
In addition, the joint venture would also seek to electrify Mahindra's joint venture with Peugeot Motorcycles. The company revealed that it plans to launch bikes from this venture beyond Indian shores, with a special focus on Europe.
The companies also revealed that they would be setting up knowledge sharing and research and development teams to build new products and pioneer technologies in the fast-growing electric passenger vehicle space.
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