In 2025, Hero MotoCorp Will Introduce Its E-scooters to the UK and EU Markets

Nitin Konde, Apoorva Bajj

Sep 20, 2024 — 3 min read

In 2025, Hero MotoCorp Will Introduce Its E-scooters to the UK and EU Markets

Hero MotoCorp, an Indian company, is planning to make its debut in developed markets by introducing electric scooters operating under the Vida brand. As per the company's plan, it will launch its brand in the UK, France, and Spain by middle of 2025. Hero is making its first foray into the markets of the UK and Europe with the intention of capitalizing on the rising demand for electric vehicles in these regions.

The action, which coincides with ongoing discussions between India and the United Kingdom regarding a free trade agreement, has the potential to reduce tariffs in the automobile industry, thereby giving additional prospects for growth.

Niranjan Gupta, the chief executive officer of Hero, was quoted by a media outlet as saying that the strong customer mood in these regions towards their electric scooters was underlined. In order to successfully manage the transition towards electric transportation, the corporation, which is already a key participant in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, intends to capitalize on this kind of enthusiasm.

However, analysts feel that in order for Hero to achieve success in these developed regions, it will be necessary for the company to provide products that are more expensive and premium. This is a market sector in which Hero has not yet established a solid presence.

An Alliance Between Hero and Harley-Davidson

Due to Hero's existing collaboration with Harley-Davidson, the company is able to manufacture motorcycles for the Indian market that are associated with the legendary brand. As the existing relationship between the two companies is only confined to India, Gupta pointed out that the expansion of Harley-Davidson's shipments to the United Kingdom would be contingent on future agreements with the Milwaukee-based company.

The expansion of the company into Europe comes at a time when India's vehicle emission rules, which were upgraded in 2020, are now in compliance with worldwide laws, which opens up new opportunities for Indian manufacturers. The imposition of higher tariffs on Chinese imports has opened up new opportunities for Indian manufacturers such as Hero to sell their products in developed countries. However, Hero will have the issue of successfully presenting its luxury motorcycles alongside its electric scooters in areas that are accustomed to higher-end models. This will be a challenge for Hero because it will be difficult to navigate the competitive landscape.

Hero Motocorp’s Sales Report Card of August 2024

For the month of August 2024, Hero MotoCorp announced sales of 512,360 units, which is a month-on-month increase of 38 percent. Year-to-date sales for the automobile manufacturer have increased by 8% when compared to the same period in the previous year. During the month of August 2024, other automotive manufacturers, on the other hand, had a decreasing trend.

The total number of vehicles sold by Tata Motors was 71,693 less than the 78,010 units that were sold in August 2023. This is an 8.1% decrease in overall sales. In a similar vein, Maruti Suzuki, another significant player in the automobile industry in India, saw a decrease in overall sales of 4% compared to the previous year.