Hero and Zero Co-Developed EVs Might Be Coming Soon!

Hero will also be bringing Zero’s portfolio of EVs to India

Hero MotoCorp has announced in its annual report that it will be bringing Zero Motorcycles’ portfolio of electric motorcycles to India and that the California-based EV maker will also be manufacturing the motorcycles in India too. Hero MotoCorp also stated that this partnership will allow the bikemaker to gain Zero’s expertise in developing electric motorcycles and combine that with its own manufacturing and distribution capabilities. 

Last year, Hero MotoCorp announced the partnership with an equity investment of up to USD 60 million in Zero Motorcycles. The Indian bikemaker also announced then that it’ll be focusing on co-developing electric motorcycles like they did with the Harley-Davidson X440. 

Currently, Zero Motorcycles’s portfolio consists of different types of motorcycles from a fully-faired sports tourer and street naked bikes to an ADV and scramblers. 

The Ultraviolette F77 is the only performance-oriented electric motorcycle with the highest range in India. Also, the 10.3kWh capacity battery in the F77 is also the biggest one among all EVs in India. Zero’s portfolio, on the other hand, consists of motorcycles with battery capacities of up to 17.3kWh. So motorcycles with such big capacity batteries will command a hefty price tag compared to that of the Ultraviolette in India, which will in turn make it difficult for them to compete in a price-sensitive market like ours.  

So, Hero and Zero might be looking into co-developing a motorcycle based on an existing Zero EV like the SR. This EV gets a 15.6kWh capacity battery with a claimed city range of 272km and a motor with peak power figures of 74PS and 166Nm and a 167kmph top speed. Hero MotoCorp might also develop its own range of electric motorcycles based on the expertise drawn from this partnership.

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Partnerships and the Indian two-wheeler industry seem to have become synonymous with each other in the recent months with the Hero-Harley-Davidson and Triumph-Bajaj partnerships being the biggest highlights. It has resulted in big bikes with very good build quality being affordable in India. And now, this partnership with Hero MotoCorp and Zero Motorcycles might have the same impact in the electric segment.