As first made-in-India electric bikes reach EU, China may have a new manufacturing challenger

Hero Cycles has just delivered its first batch of Indian-produced electric bicycles to Germany.

Now, the company expects the figures to grow.

Hero Cycles is a massive bicycle manufacturer owned by Hero Motors, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

The Indian manufacturer’s electric bicycle division has now set its sights on Europe and the continent’s burgeoning electric bicycle market.

Currently dominated by many domestic electric bicycle companies, the European e-bike market represents one of the largest outside of China.

Hero hopes to become a new leader in the European market, competing with both domestic manufacturers and low-cost imported electric bicycles from China.

The plan may be ambitious, but Hero brings a number of advantages. Indian-made electric bicycles aren’t subject to the heavy tariffs levied against many Chinese electric bicycle companies. Hero also brings to the table its own massive manufacturing resources and expertise.

By 2025, Hero plans to add €300M in organic growth from its European operations and another €200M in inorganic growth, likely through the use of mergers and acquisitions.

The move comes at a time when India is increasingly establishing itself as a major global competitor in the development and production of light electric vehicles and their associated systems.

A number of interesting startups have arisen in India to produce high-tech electric scooters for the domestic market.

Light electric motorcycle companies have also used strategic partnerships to produce hugely popular electric two-wheelers. Revolt’s RV400 electric motorcycle sold out in just two hours after opening a new round of pre-orders last week.

Hero Motors even scored a key partnership agreement with Taiwanese battery-swapping electric scooter leader Gogoro to bring the latter’s battery swapping technology and scooters to India.

Now, some Indian manufacturers are already looking at exporting their vehicles beyond the Indian market. Ola Electric is currently constructing a factory designed to produce 2 million electric scooters per year with an eventual capacity of 10 million scooters per year. A large portion of those scooters are already slated for export to Europe and other Asian countries.

As China continues to experience supply chain and shipping disruptions, India’s major play as a competitor in the global light electric vehicle market could result in key changes to the industry over the next several years.