Zero and Hero's First EV Motorcycle Is Well On Its Way

Not too big, not too small; expect a middleweight on its way.

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Nov 28, 2024 at 7:36am ET

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Remember back in 2022, when Hero MotoCorp invested a rather serious-sounding $60M into electric motorcycle maker Zero Motorcycles?

Things were pretty quiet for some time after that, until January of this year. That's when Zero and Hero gave a small glimpse at what they've been working on all this time, and indicated that we could see the first fruits of their joint efforts in the near future.

Fast-forward to November, and there's a little more news to report on this front. For those interested in motorcycle sales and financial reports, it's quarterly report time for many companies, and it's on Hero's most recent earnings call that we got another update.

In a call that took place on November 15, Hero's CEO, Niranjan Gupta, confirmed that the first bike from the partnership will be in the middleweight segment. And furthermore, that its development is in an "advanced stage."

While a full timeline isn't available just yet, the current expectation is that it should hit sometime in FY 2026. These will be part of Hero's premium motorcycle portfolio.

Hero MotoCorp has its existing Vida EV scooter line, but middleweight EV motorcycles such as what's in development with Zero should slot neatly into competition against some of India's other more performance-oriented EV motorcycle options. Think of the Ultraviolette F77, or the Revolt RV400 lineup.

At this time, it's not clear whether Hero has plans to release these motorcycles outside of India, or to keep them within the Indian market. Notably, competing EV startup Ultraviolette has been very open about its desires to bring its machines to markets in Europe and beyond, and it recently certified the F77 for impending EU release.

Could this be a direction that we see this Hero and Zero collaboration follow in the future? We'll be sure to keep you posted.