Matribhumi Samachar English
Mumbai. Monday, 25 May 2026
India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, is steering into the financial year 2026-27 with a high-octane growth plan. Cornered by tightening competition, the automotive giant has announced an aggressive roadmap featuring over 12 entirely new product launches and a massive expansion of its electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem.
Speaking on the company’s forward-looking strategy, CEO Harsh Vardhan Chitale highlighted that the scooter segment—specifically electric mobility—is transitioning from a niche laboratory experiment into Hero’s primary long-term growth engine. The company’s crowning objective? To have electric models account for more than 50% of its total scooter sales by the year 2030.
Why the Scooter Focus Matters
To understand why Hero MotoCorp is suddenly hyper-focusing on scooters, one has to look at the latest sales data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). A surface-level glance shows Hero maintaining its historic crown as India’s two-wheeler king, but a deeper dive reveals a distinct structural vulnerability that their new EV strategy aims to fix.
FY 2025-26 Two-Wheeler Sales Breakdown
| Manufacturer | Motorcycles Sold | Scooters Sold | Total Units Sold |
| Hero MotoCorp | 5.493 Million | 572,000 | 6.065 Million |
| Honda (HMSI) | 2.589 Million | 3.162 Million | 5.751 Million |
The Reality Behind the Numbers:
While Hero completely dominates the motorcycle segment (selling more than double Honda’s volume), it lags severely behind in conventional scooters. Honda sells nearly six times as many scooters as Hero.
By setting an aggressive target for electric scooters to account for half of their scooter portfolio by 2030, Hero isn’t just embracing clean energy—they are executing a brilliant tactical pivot. Instead of trying to fight a losing battle against Honda in the mature, internal combustion engine (ICE) scooter market, Hero is attempting to leapfrog the competition entirely by capturing the rapidly emerging electric scooter market through its VIDA brand.
A Product Blitz to Defend the Crown
CEO Harsh Vardhan Chitale acknowledged that competition in the domestic market has reached an all-time high, with the sales volume gap between Hero and its closest rivals narrowing significantly over the last few seasons.
To create a protective moat around its market share, Hero is shifting away from its traditional strategy of slow, incremental updates. For the current fiscal year, the company plans a historic product blitz:
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Core Launches: More than 12 entirely new, ground-up models spanning electric variants, premium motorcycles (above 125cc), and entry-level commuter bikes.
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The Full Portfolio: When factoring in mid-cycle refreshes, trim upgrades, and localized variants, the company expects to roll out between 40 to 50 product interventions across its dealership network.
The Infrastructure and Export Cushion
Hero’s push for double-digit growth isn’t resting solely on domestic retail. The company is actively capitalizing on government subsidies and localized production to drive down EV battery and manufacturing costs, making its low-emission powertrains highly competitive for international markets.
Alongside localized infrastructure development, expanding international export hubs will serve as a critical cushion. If domestic rural demand experiences seasonal fluctuations, Hero can divert its massive production capacity toward emerging markets in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, where demand for affordable, cleaner two-wheelers is expanding rapidly.
With an unmatched dealer network, a clean-slate approach to premium EVs, and an unprecedented product pipeline, Hero MotoCorp is making it explicitly clear: they do not intend to yield their top spot on the podium anytime soon.
