New Delhi: Hero MotoThe country’s largest two-wheeler maker has said that electrics will account for 50 percent of the scooter market by 2030, though leadership in the category will be like “Russian roulette” in the short term as new and old players jostle for market share. fight
Company CEO Niranjan Gupta said Hero will invest Rs 1,000 crore in the EV business this year, while it plans to Electric scooter and motorcycles, including through a partnership with American brand ‘Zero’, in the coming years.
“We see the EV business as a marathon, not a sprint,” Gupta said, as he talked about the electric two-wheeler category where leadership is currently shifting between them. . Ola Electric and TVS and Bajaj Auto.
Electrics currently account for 15% of scooters, compared to five percent of the overall two-wheeler market due to negligible sales of motorcycles.
Hero Moto launched electric vehicles under the ‘Vida’ brand in October 2022, but has been relatively slow to grow sales compared to its rivals.
Ola Electric, which started losing steam in parts of 2024, still leads the segment with sales of 4 lakh units, according to numbers released by dealers’ body FADA. TVS Motor 2.2 lakh, followed by Bajaj Auto with 1.9 lakh units, and Hero Moto with 43,695 units. The silver lining for Hero has been Ether, the electric startup where it has majority control. Aether sold 1.26 lakh units in 2024.
Asked about leadership in the category, Gupta said it was too early to decide the winners. “I don’t think we should do anything with the current numbers. Three months ago there was another player who was number one. Before that, another player. Now there is another player and this Russian roulette will continue until the category is worth it. So, you winners and losers People start measuring when the category gets bigger… because it’s going to keep changing, the game is going to keep changing.”
He said that while electric scooters will grow rapidly, it will be slow to take up in motorcycles. “Among motorcycles, we estimate that the share of electrics will be around 10% by 2030. They require more power and longer range, which requires larger batteries, thus making the vehicles heavier and more expensive. It becomes impractical, at least for commuter bikes.”
Hero has also begun collaborating with Ether in areas such as a shared charging ecosystem, even as it looks at new areas for joint initiatives. Gupta declined to give details, but said “many possibilities of cooperation” were being considered.
Regarding motorcycles, he said that apart from the partnership with Zero, Hero is also working on its own products. “Some of them are in an advanced stage, although I can’t talk specifically about their launch yet.”
Talking about the broader two-wheeler market, with conventional petrol models accounting for most of the sales, Gupta said demand is picking up, especially given the positive sentiment in the rural market. Rural areas account for 53 percent for Hero.