Hero MotoCorp Preps EV Infra Ahead Of E-scooter Launch

Hero MotoCorp and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have teamed up to set up charging infrastructure for electric two-wheelers across the country. This move comes ahead of the two-wheeler manufacturer’s upcoming electric scooter launch, which is scheduled for early this year, presumably by next month.

As per Hero’s collaboration with Bharat Petroleum, the two companies will establish charging stations across nine cities, starting with Delhi and Bengaluru in the first phase. It will then expand to other cities across the country. Infrastructure development in the first two cities will commence soon, and each charging station will feature multiple charging points including DC and AC chargers. The company says they “..will be available for use to all two-wheeled EVs”.

Hero also says the user experience will be controlled via a dedicated app, and the transactions will be cashless. If Hero MotoCorp is indeed opening up the charging infrastructure to all electric two-wheelers, then the company will also be able to establish itself in the EV infrastructure segment that’s currently populated only by a few OEM players. 

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In September 2021, Bharat Petroleum had already announced its plans of converting 7,000 retail outlets into ‘Energy Stations’ that are designed to cater to offer “multiple fuelling options”, including charging points for EVs, in the medium to long term. 

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The two companies say “...may broaden the collaboration to develop more synergies within the EV ecosystem and adjacent business verticals, thereby enabling prospects throughout the customer life cycle.” This also hints at the possibility of Hero MotoCorp establishing swap stations for its upcoming electric scooter developed in conjunction with GoGoro. Afterall, Bharat Petroleum has got a sprawling network of fuel stations, so tapping into this for EV charging infrastructure should bring down range anxiety by a considerable level. Moreover, setting up swap stations at these points will also align with the Indian Government’s push to encourage the adoption of swappable battery technology. It will also help Hero MotoCorp with the e-scooter’s demands, as customers will not have to worry about whether the company has a good network of charging/swap stations or not.