Hero Cycles and Yamaha to develop e-bikes

Global cycling major Hero Cycles, which has recently entered the electric bicycle segment, has signed a strategic alliance with Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and trading and investment enterprise, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. of Japan.

Hero Cycles Ltd. is the flagship company of the Hero Motors Company (HMC) group, and is the world’s largest integrated bicycle manufacturer by volume and manufacturing, with over 19,000 bicycles sold every day. With government initiatives on clean transportation on the rise, the electric bike segment in India is sure to see growth. Yamaha is currently part of the e-bike segment with their PWseries. Hero Cycles will be looking to implement this technology in their products, with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. handling marketing and distribution.

The announcement also comes in the wake of other initiatives recently announced by Hero Cycles, one of which, namely the “Cycle Valley” project that is expected to be set up in Ludhiana, will serve as a hub for end-to-end supply chain of the bicycle industry. The Cycle Valley will be led by Hero Cycles as the anchor investor and will create an ecosystem of suppliers in joint ventures with global bicycle component makers. The first product for India to roll out from this alliance would be a high-end E-MTB, which is the same segment that has seen the fastest growth in Europe during the last year.

“The partnership has been formed with a forward looking plan which includes development of new e-mobility products jointly by Hero and Yamaha, with go-to-market sales, distribution & marketing support by Mitsui & Co., Ltd.”, says Hero Motors Company (HMC) Chairman Pankaj M Munjal.