- Hero Maestro electric version concept spotted in the open
- Gets nearly the same styling as the petrol-powered Maestro Edge 125
- Production version is expected to be launched by the end of this year
In February this year, the electric version of the Hero Maestro was revealed through a picture indicating that the company is working on its first electric scooter. Surprisingly, a prototype of the same Maestro electric was recently spotted in flesh, suggesting that the company is gearing up to launch its production version soon.
The name of the concept is eMaestro Proto which will definitely be different for its production version. The styling of the scooter is identical to the petrol-powered Maestro Edge 125 with same body panels. However, what differentiates it from its ICE sibling is the copper brown front forks and alloy wheels. The headlamp also gets a smoked finish as opposed to the clear lens on the conventional version of the scooter.
The eMaestro Proto gets LED headlamp and tail lamp with conventional turn indicators. Instrumentation comprises of a fully-digital console while other features might include cloud connectivity and keyless operation. What’s further interesting is that the concept gets a rotating left handlebar grip for toggling through reverse, neutral and drive modes. This type of setup used to be available in the scooters of the olden days, such as the Bajaj Chetak. The right handlebar grip, meanwhile, works as a traditional accelerator.
Coming to its powertrain, the eMaestro concept features a permanent magnet hub-mounted motor which is powered by a lithium-ion battery. While the specifications of the battery and motor are not known yet, its performance could be in the ballpark of 110cc conventional scooters. For shock absorption, it gets telescopic forks up front and a monoshock at the rear while braking is handled by drum brakes at both ends.
Hero MotoCorp is likely to launch the production version of the eMaestro Proto by the end of this year. Considering the fact that it will pack a decent performance and modern features, the pricing could be around Rs 1 lakh. With the Maestro electric, Hero MotoCorp will aim to compete against the Bajaj Chetak electric and the TVS iQube.
Source: 91wheels
