A joint product development and platform sharing between Hero Electric and Mahindra Group will also enable electrification of Peugeot Motorcycles portfolio
Hero Electric and Mahindra Group have announced a strategic partnership in the electric mobility space. This partnership has been forged as part of Hero Electric’s growth and expansion plans in order to cater to the growing demand for electric vehicles in India.
As part of this joint venture, Mahindra will manufacture two of the most popular electric scooters from Hero Electric- Optima & NYX to meet the growing demands of the market. These two electric scooters will be manufactured at Mahindra’s Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh. This is the same plant where Mahindra manufactures their Jawa and Yezdi motorcycles.
Hero Electric-Mahindra JV: More details
This collaboration will also help Hero Electric with the expansion of their existing Ludhiana facility. By expanding its manufacturing facility, Hero intends to meet its demand of manufacturing over 1 million electric two-wheelers per year by 2022. It will further enable them to drive adoption of a cleaner mode of transport.
Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric, has stated that partnership between the two automotive firms will enhance manufacturing capabilities to meet demand and utilize Mahindra Group’s robust supply chain to reach newer centers in the country. He further revealed that a long-term partnership will also see both the companies make the most out of each other’s deep knowledge of EVs and drive new product development in the next few years.
The primary purpose of this joint venture will be production and development of a supply chain and sharing of platforms for electric two-wheelers. Though Mahindra currently doesn’t manufacture electric two-wheelers of its own, it supplies and manufactures parts for e-scooters for the French brand Peugeot. The joint development efforts will prove beneficial for Peugeot when it comes to platform sharing.
Development of EV-related tech for other brands
Mahindra and Hero Electric will enter into a 5-year contract with a possibility to enhance the areas of collaboration in future. The value of the transaction is expected to stand in the range of Rs 140-150 crores over the contract period.
The two companies will create a seamless channel of communication to aid knowledge sharing among the R&D teams to build new products and technologies. This will be done keeping the Indian and global markets in mind that will not just further the growth of electric vehicles but also go on to set benchmarks for faster adoption in the industry.
The partnership between Hero Electric and Mahindra will further help the latter in developing new EV-related technologies which could be further utilised in other Mahindra-owned two-wheeler brands such as Jawa, Yezdi and most importantly BSA. Reports of Classic Legends developing an electric motorcycle under Jawa had surfaced online a few months back.