Hero Electric Starts Production in Canada

NEW DELHI, India - Hero Electric is finalizing plans to enter the North American market. The Indian company already found a partner in Canada with whom it will sign a joint venture in the next quarter.

With this move Hero Electric will set up a production base in Canada to cater the markets of the North America. “We have already signed a memorandum of understanding with Chalmers Group, based about 15 km from Toronto. We will sign the joint venture with them in the next three months,” said Sohinder Gill, CEO of Hero Electric. Chalmers has interests in automobile industry and hospital equipment.

The joint venture would initially target the large Asian community living in North America. “We will soon set up a production facility with the Canadian partner. We have to have 60% local content to sell the vehicle in the Canadian market and therefore, our next goal is to set up the production unit in Canada,” Gill said. Though he declined comment on the timeframe of setting up the proposed plant.

The Indian company already found a Canadian battery supplier for its electric scooter range. Hero Electric aims to begin selling electric scooters equipped with Electrovaya's lithium-ion SuperPolymer batteries in the Canadian market by the end of 2011. Initially, the scooters will be marketed in the Greater Toronto Area. However, plans call for a Canada-wide distribution network to be established soon, expansion into the US seems to be the next possibility.

Meanwhile, Hero Electric recently showed three electric scooters in the Swiss Moto in Switzerland. “One of our models has received enthusiastic response and now it is under homologation for the Swiss market,” said Gill.