So, Hero MotoCorp, part of the holy trinity of the scooter BIG ICE OEM's, has launched an electric scooter under the brand name Vida! Hero MotoCorp have made some interesting investments in EV startups. Here are our musings on their first EV launch!
Video: Hero Motocorp's Vida V1 Pro & V1 Plus | PR Game or Serious about EV's?
So, HeroMotoCorp, part of the holy trinity of the scooter BIG ICE Mafia, has launched an electric scooter under the brand name Vida! They are calling it the Vida V1 and V1 Pro and as expected, Hero has inflated the price of the scooter just like Bajaj & TVS. Check this out - The V1 Pro’s ex-Showroom price with the portable charger is a whopping Rs 2,19,000. After the FAME 2 subsidy in Bengaluru, the price is Rs 1,59,000. After registration, Insurance, Road Tax, you will be paying more than 1.7 lakhs.
Do you think this is a fair price or is Hero Motocorp looting public money?
We spoke to our contacts in the industry on component costs for an electric scooter having a 3.94 kWh battery pack, a motor rated at 6 kW peak power and they said Hero Motocorp are ensuring high margins for the EV business.
Would I pay more than 1.7 lakhs on the Vida S1 Pro? I would not want to support a BIG ICE Mafia company that is eating public money and is not serious about EVs. Ultimately companies like Hero, Bajaj, TVS will ensure the EV prices will be artificially inflated and will do whatever they can to NOT disrupt their ICE Scooter and Motorcycle business.
Hero MotoCorp’s market share in domestic scooters, currently at 7 percent YTD in FY23 and i doubt the launch of Vida at inflated prices will do anything to increase Hero’s scooter market share.
In order to grow their EV market share, Hero has made very interesting investments in three EV startups.
While Hero may not care about EV sales this year or the next year, after 2024, they may get serious with multiple products from Vida, Gogoro and Zero in the market.
At least we hope so.Time will tell.
Do you think this is a fair price or is Hero Motocorp looting public money?
We spoke to our contacts in the industry on component costs for an electric scooter having a 3.94 kWh battery pack, a motor rated at 6 kW peak power and they said Hero Motocorp are ensuring high margins for the EV business.
Would I pay more than 1.7 lakhs on the Vida S1 Pro? I would not want to support a BIG ICE Mafia company that is eating public money and is not serious about EVs. Ultimately companies like Hero, Bajaj, TVS will ensure the EV prices will be artificially inflated and will do whatever they can to NOT disrupt their ICE Scooter and Motorcycle business.
Hero MotoCorp’s market share in domestic scooters, currently at 7 percent YTD in FY23 and i doubt the launch of Vida at inflated prices will do anything to increase Hero’s scooter market share.
In order to grow their EV market share, Hero has made very interesting investments in three EV startups.
- As many of you know, Hero MotoCorp announced a new investment of up to Rs 420 crore in Ather Energy in Jan of this year. They are the largest shareholders at Ather Energy.
- At the end of September, Hero announced a collaboration and investment of $60 million (Rs 490 CR) with California-based Zero Motorcycles for the development of electric motorcycles. Zero Motorcycles is an American electric motorcycle brand and is a 16 year old company. Hero’s investment there is interesting, they will have a sizable stake in Zero. The first electric motorcycles for the Indian market may arrive due to this collaboration.
- Hero MotoCorp also has a partnership with Taiwanese battery sharing company Gogoro, and is expected to launch a scooter with swappable batteries in 2023 or 2024.
While Hero may not care about EV sales this year or the next year, after 2024, they may get serious with multiple products from Vida, Gogoro and Zero in the market.
At least we hope so.Time will tell.
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Coming back to the Vida brand, Hero to their credit has made purchasing the Vida V1 Plus and V1 Pro easier - they are offering an assured buyback up to 70 percent of the e-scooter's cost after 16-18 months of ownership, they also have attractive finance schemes at an interest rate 1.5-2 percent lower than usual, and a three-day trial period for customers - Although it remains to be seen how the 3 day trial run would work out in the real world.
I feel it is marketing fluff.
As for the scooter itself, I’m not impressed by the handle bar area. Is this a scooter or a moped or a motorcycle? What is it?
Also removable batteries may seem attractive but carrying 4 kWh packs everyday to your apartment may not be that practical. Also you need to manage charging 2 batteries.
The touchscreen looks nice with an SOC % indicator for both the batteries - We are not sure how this will work, will both batteries be drained simultaneously while riding?
Regen is available with a reverse twist like the OLA scooter and there are some interesting customizations. The mobile app seems promising with lots of interesting details - like scooter diagnostic reports, trip reports etc.
All in all Hero MotoCorp’s Vida scooters seem to be more software driven compared to Bajaj’s Chetak or TVS iQube. But the software quality remains to be seen and afterall Hero are a ICE vehicle manufacturer with practically zero experience in software.
So guys the Vida V1 and V1 Pro - What do you think about it? Will you book it? Let us know in the comments below and we will see you in the next episode of Industry watch!
Vida World Website (external)
I feel it is marketing fluff.
As for the scooter itself, I’m not impressed by the handle bar area. Is this a scooter or a moped or a motorcycle? What is it?
Also removable batteries may seem attractive but carrying 4 kWh packs everyday to your apartment may not be that practical. Also you need to manage charging 2 batteries.
The touchscreen looks nice with an SOC % indicator for both the batteries - We are not sure how this will work, will both batteries be drained simultaneously while riding?
Regen is available with a reverse twist like the OLA scooter and there are some interesting customizations. The mobile app seems promising with lots of interesting details - like scooter diagnostic reports, trip reports etc.
All in all Hero MotoCorp’s Vida scooters seem to be more software driven compared to Bajaj’s Chetak or TVS iQube. But the software quality remains to be seen and afterall Hero are a ICE vehicle manufacturer with practically zero experience in software.
So guys the Vida V1 and V1 Pro - What do you think about it? Will you book it? Let us know in the comments below and we will see you in the next episode of Industry watch!
Vida World Website (external)