Hero Electric slashes prices for its popular models by up to 33%

PTI, Jun 26, 2021, 9:41 AM IST

New Delhi: Electric two-wheeler maker, Hero Electric on Friday said it has slashed prices for its popular models by up to 33 per cent following enhanced subsidies under the FAME II scheme.

In response to the amendments to the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) policy in India, the company said it is passing on the cost-benefit to customers.

The decrease in prices ranges from 12 per cent for single battery variants to 33 per cent for the triple battery Nyx HX model, Hero Electric said in a statement.

Under the new prices, the Photon HX model will be available at Rs 71,449 as compared to Rs 79,940 earlier. Similarly, the NYX HX (Triple Battery) will come at Rs 85,136, down from Rs 1,13,115 earlier.

The Optima ER will now be available at Rs 58,980 as compared to Rs 78,640 before, the company said.

Hero Electric CEO Sohinder Gill said, “The revision in subsidies on batteries and EVs overall under the FAME policy is just the move the industry needed to drive adoption of electric vehicles.”

Having had one of the best years in terms of sales despite the pandemic last year is a testimony that the market is ripe for a major push towards shifting towards a cleaner mobility solution, he added.

Gill said Hero Electric has seen a major spurt in the adoption of its ‘City Speed Series’ – high-speed electric scooters – in the last two years and with this additional subsidy, a multi-fold increase in the sale of such models is expected.

“With such industry-friendly moves from the policymakers, we expect the market to further touch 5-7 million units on road over the next 5 years,” he added.

In the recently modified FAME II scheme, the Ministry of Heavy Industries had increased demand incentives on electric two-wheelers to Rs 15,000 per kWh, against Rs 10,000 per kWh uniform subsidy available earlier.

Also, the government had increased the cap on the incentive to 40 per cent of the cost of the electric two-wheeler as against 20 per cent earlier.