Hero Moto’s first electric scooter Hero Vida launched, will have a range of 143 km

The country’s largest two-wheeler company Hero Moto has launched its first electric scooter Hero Vida. Sales of electric two-wheelers have increased in the last few years. However, Hero has delayed its entry into this segment, which has benefited startups like Ather Energy and Ola Electric.

Hero Moto Chairman Pawan Munjal said, “We wanted to launch this product first but we wanted to make it right and good.” In the total sales of two-wheelers in the country e-scooter And the share of e-bikes is around two per cent. It is planned to increase it to about 80 percent by 2030. The price of Vida Plus, the first model in this segment of Hero Moto, is around Rs 1,45,000. Its minimum range in single charge will be 143 km. Its price is costlier than most of the electric scooters sold in the country. Its booking will start from 10 October.

Sales of electric two-wheelers are picking up and a major reason for this is rising petrol prices. However, due to some incidents of electric scooters catching fire, there have been apprehensions about the safety. This may affect the sales of e-scooters. Hero Moto had invested in a few electric vehicle startups before launching its first model in the segment. In September, the company had announced an investment of $60 million to jointly develop electric motorcycles with US-based Zero Motorcycles. Earlier this year, the company had invested over $56 million in Ather. Last year, it entered into a venture with Taiwan’s Gogoro for battery sharing infrastructure.

Ola Electric, one of the big companies in the electric two-wheeler segment, has prepared to sell electric scooters in the international market. Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Ola, said, “Our expansion overseas signifies the growth of the company as well as the significant role that India plays in driving the EV segment in the world.” He had said that India will have to make a big contribution to take the electric vehicle segment to the next level. The company recently announced its electric four-wheeler project. Ola, invested by Japan’s SoftBank Group, is focusing on becoming an integrated mobility company.