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 Naveen Munjal, Managing Director - Hero Electric first experienced an electric vehicle in the USA in 1997. He spent the next ten years to conceive a product that has today become the market leader in its segment. Constant upgradation of products and a dealer network spread across the country has made his company one of the prominent players in the domestic electric vehicle segment.
Q: You have been in the market for nearly two years now. What according to you is the biggest challenge you have faced till now?
A: The first and foremost hurdle is the lack of awareness among people about electric vehicles. Since the time we started, this issue remains a challenge for us and other players in the market as well. We have been organizing road shows and rallies in different parts of the country in order to inform people about these vehicles. Not only the benefits, but the even the limitations of these vehicles are discussed during such road shows. A prospective customer is given a true picture about the product.
Q: What has been the government’s stand on green scooters? Are they supporting the initiative?
A: Yes. Various state governments have been quite receptive towards electric scooters. The Delhi government has been the most supportive so far. They have recently announced a 12.5 percent exemption of VAT and a 15 percent subsidy on the basic price of electric vehicles. This translates to 24.5 percent of total subsidy. Hence in Delhi, a Hero Maxi or Optima can be purchased in the range of Rs 22,000 to Rs 24,000, but in other states a customer has to shell out between Rs 31,000 and 33,000 for the same products. Some other states have also announced VAT reduction in the range of 4-12 percent. Prominent among them are Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
Q: What is the installed capacity of your manufacturing plant in Ludhiana and how many units have you sold in the last fiscal?
A: We have an installed capacity of producing 1,25,000 units per year. Last year, we sold around 21,000 units and this year we are hoping to sell around 45,000 units. In addition to the existing plant, we are planning to come up with a facility in south India. Apart from this, we are also exporting to neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal as well as trying to set up dealerships there.
Q: How many dealerships do you have presently in the country? How many will be added in the near future?
A: We have 260 dealerships across the country at the moment and would like to maintain this figure in the current fiscal. As volumes grow, say by next year, we plan to add 125 more to the present figure.
Q: Are you planning to introduce some high powered scooters in the coming days?
A: We are constantly upgrading our products. We are currently selling the Maxi and the Optima models. By the end of this month, we plan to come out with a high powered model that will be able to do 65km/h.
Q: Are most components of your products manufactured locally?
A: The majority of parts required are locally manufactured and procured. Some of the components which we don’t get here are imported. At present it makes sense to procure some of the products from abroad. As volumes increase, we can always manufacture them here too.
Q: The government has recently slashed fuel prices. Has this affected the sales of your merchandise?
A: As the running costs are a fraction of the petrol vehicles, there hasn’t really been an effect on sales.
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