-New premium, mid-segment and mass market launches planned
-Preparing to tackle an environment where subsides are reduced
Vida, the electric two-wheeler arm of Hero MotoCorp is planning to launch scooters in the affordable, mid and premium segment. The company plans to launch them over the course of the year as part of a new aggressive strategy.
At present, Vida sells the V1 and V1 Pro electric scooters in the market. The V1 is a premium offering and goes up against the Ola S1 Pro and the Ather 450X. It features a touchscreen TFT display, Bluetooth connectivity and a powerful electric motor. One of the Vida’s USPs is the removable battery that offers the convenience of being charged at home or at the office desk.
The new range of Vida EVs will be built to be more cost effective and be eligible for Government PLI schemes and will be more affordable than the Vida V1. In fact, the V1 isn’t even eligible for PLI schemes and that puts pressure on the company to price the electric scooter competitively while taking a hit on margins to some extent.
Vida, in fact, is also working on optimising costs in such a way that reduced subsidies won’t have a severe impact on the prices of the scooter. Doing so will be crucial considering the uncertainty of Government subsidies over the course of time.
Vida is also hopeful that the Government will continue to support the electric vehicle space in India as it is still not mature enough to run without the support of subsidies.
All said, it is about time that Vida leverages the financial and technical resources of Hero MotoCorp as well as its vast dealer network to take on the might of the Ola S1 range and the TVS iQube series that sell in big numbers.
