NEW DELHI: Hero Moto, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, has said that electrics will become 50% of the scooter market by 2030 even though leadership in the category will be like “Russian roulette” in the short-term as newer and older players fight for market share.
Niranjan Gupta, CEO of the company, said Hero will invest Rs 1,000 crore in EV business this year, while it plans to launch new electric scooters and motorcycles, including through its partnership with American brand ‘Zero’, in coming years. “We see the EV business as a marathon, and not a sprint,” Gupta said.
Currently, the share of electrics in scooters is 15%, while it is 5% in overall two-wheeler market due to near-negligible sales in motorcycles. Hero Moto had launched electric vehicles under the ‘Vida’ brand in Oct 2022, but has been relatively slow in expanding sales when compared to rivals.
In 2024, Ola Electric led the segment with sales of 4 lakh units, according to numbers released by dealers body FADA. TVS Motor followed with sales of 2.2 lakh, Bajaj Auto with 1.9 lakh units, and Hero Moto with 43,695 units. The silver lining for Hero has been Ather, the electric start-up where it holds majority control. Ather sold 1.26 lakh units in 2024.
“I don’t think we should make out anything with the current numbers. Three months back there was another player which was the number one. Right before that, there was another player, now there’s another player. And this Russian roulette will continue for some more time till the category becomes sizeable. So, you start measuring the winners and losers once the category becomes sizeable… because this will keep changing, the game will keep changing.”
He said that while electrics will grow faster in scooters, it will be slow to pick in motorcycles. “In motorcycles, we estimate that share of electrics will be around 10% by 2030. They need more power and longer range, which necessitates a bigger battery, thus making the vehicles heavier and costlier. It does become unviable at least for commuter bikes.”
Hero has also started to collaborate with Ather in areas like shared charging ecosystem. It also looks at newer areas for joint initiatives. Gupta refused to divulge details, but said “many possibilities of cooperation” are being looked into. On motorcycles, he said apart from partnership with Zero, Hero is also working on its own products. “Some of them are at an advanced stage, though I cannot speak specifically about their launch as of now.”
