Betting big on Vida

Hero MotoCorp has launched its first EV-the Vida e-scooter and it is not a 'me-too' in a crowded market of legacy and start-ups. Amit Vijay M reports after attending the launch event in Jaipur.

- Amit Vijay M

Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest ICE two-wheeler manufacturer and a market leader in India has big under a new brand umbrella called Vida. Having first revealed plans early in 2021, it is the third of the big three ICE OEMs, after Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor, to do so.

The EV strategy for the company picked up pace this year on March 3, in Dubai, when Dr Pawan Munjal, chairman and CEO, announced 'Vida, Powered by Hero' as the new brand under which Hero MotoCorp's initiatives for emerging mobility solutions were to be introduced.

The Hero Vida e-scooter was to have originally been launched on July 1, 2022 to coincide with the birth anniversary of Dr Brijmohan Lal, the late founder and chairman of the Hero Group. But the launch plans were put on hold due to enormous supply chain issues.

Thus, it was that on October 7, the two e-scooters - Vida V1 Plus and Vida V1 Pro-priced at Rs 1,45,000 and Rs 1,59,000 respectively, were revealed at an elaborate Vida brand and product launch at the company's Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Dr Munjal said: Vida, meaning 'life', is a promise of a better world. The Vida VI will play a crucial role by reducing tailpipe emissions, promoting eco-friendly behaviour and leading to a conscious shift in overall consumption patterns. We must redesign the entire value system and ecosystem of a product and service to have meaningful results for the future of our planet.

The Vida electric scooters have been designed and co-developed at Hero's R&D hubs - CIT in Jaipur and the Hero Tech Centre, near Munich. The scooters will be manufactured at Hero MotoCorp's plant at Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Dr Munjal also indicated at the Vida scooter launch that electric motorcycles would also be added to the Vida EV portfolio in the future. The company has recently partnered and invested in Zero Motorcycles of the US to jointly manufacture e-motorcycles.