Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler maker, has announced a strategic partnership with Taiwan-based Gogoro for developing the electric vehicle and charging network in India. The partners will establish a battery swapping JV to bring Gogoro’s battery swapping platform to India. In addition, Hero MotoCorp will launch electric vehicles using Gogoro’s technology. Hero MotoCorp will be the majority partner in the JV.
Hero’s plans for battery swapping
Commenting on the new partnership, Dr. Pawan Munjal, chairman and CEO, Hero MotoCorp, said, “Our strategic partnership with Gogoro is in line with our Vision – ‘Be the Future of Mobility’ which we are bringing alive through our Mission to ‘Create, Collaborate & Inspire’. Today marks another major milestone in our journey, as we bring Hero’s leadership in two-wheelers, our global scale and innovation powerhouse, with the leadership of Gogoro in swapping business models, as they have demonstrated over the years in Taiwan and the rest of the world. This partnership will further extend the work, which we are doing at our R&D hubs at the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur & our Tech Centre in Germany.”
“The vision and commitment of Hero and Gogoro is perfectly aligned towards the common goal of accelerating the shift to smart, sustainable electric mobility in India, and around the World. With this new partnership, we commit to introducing a sustainable mobility paradigm, first in India and then in other markets around the world. This partnership will strengthen and expedite the Indian government’s electrification drive and will have a significant impact on India’s energy and mobility future,” he added.
Horace Luke, founder and CEO, Gogoro said, “We are at a critical stage in the transformation of urban mobility and the evolution of smart cities. With more than 225 million gas-powered two-wheel vehicles in India, the need for smart and sustainable electric transportation and refuelling is vital. The Hero-Gogoro partnership addresses these challenges and will leverage Hero’s market strength and Gogoro’s industry leading innovations to deliver smart vehicles and refuel with Gogoro Network battery swapping.”
At present, Gogoro manages over 3,75,000 riders and 2,000 battery swapping stations, with more than 2,65,000 daily battery swaps totalling more than 174 million total battery swaps to date.
Hero’s growing presence in EVs
Hero MotoCorp, as is known, is one of the lead investors in the Bangalore-based electric scooter maker Ather Energy. The company, which has been a part of Ather’s growth story since 2016, currently has nearly 35 percent of shareholding in the EV maker. Hero MotoCorp, which first invested in the Bangalore-based EV start-up in October 2016, in Series B funding, and invested Rs 84 crore more in July 2020 to hike its stake in Ather to 34.58 percent, invested $12 million (Rs 89 crore) as a part of the Series D round in November 2020. Earlier this year, Ather opened a new smart manufacturing plant in Hosur, with a production capacity of 1,10,000 e-scooters and also 1,20,000 battery packs per annum.
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