Tremendous growth opportunity in India, Apac region: Zero Motorcycles CEO

US-based Zero Motorcycles sees tremendous growth opportunity in India where it has tied up with Hero MotoCorp for co-developing premium electric bikes, according to CEO Sam Paschel.

The California-based firm, which specialises in electric motorcycles and powertrains, feels that it needs to have a product which could help it penetrate the price-sensitive market.

"We see tremendous opportunities for us in those (APAC and India) markets. But I think you have to have a product that fits the use case and the price points of those markets," Zero Motorcycles CEO Sam Paschel told PTI here in an interaction.

In future, the company will have models that should allow it to start penetrating the Asia Pacific and India as key markets, he added.

Zero Motorcycles, which is a global leader in electric motorcycles and powertrains, currently sells the majority of its vehicles in the US and Europe.

Terming Hero MotoCorp as a long-term committed development partner, Paschel noted that partners are developing electric vehicles together.

"I think they're a great partner for us to attack the Indian market. For us, Asia, APAC are very large two-wheeler markets. Most of them end up being mid or low-price. So you need vehicles that are within the strike zone of what the price for most consumers are, and we're moving there quickly," he noted.

In September 2022, Hero MotoCorp's board approved an equity investment of up to $ 60 million in Zero. In 2023 the companies announced collaboration for the development of premium electric bikes.

When asked about the company's long-term plans for the Indian market, Paschel said: "That's definitely where it will start (partnership with Hero MotoCorp). That's the first step. They are absolutely the right partner. We are so proud of the partnership."  "It is a 10-year-long committed partnership. Beyond that, we have, of course, have ambitions to be a brand that is present in one of the largest two-wheeler markets in the world," he noted.

But all of the company's first steps, of course, will be taken with Hero MotoCorp, Paschel said.

When asked about challenges in the Indian market, Paschel said that charging infrastructure remains limited.

He however lauded the Indian government for providing subsidies under the FAME scheme.

When asked to elaborate on the EV segment globally, Paschel noted that there is still robust growth in EV adoption in the four wheeler segment. "It's just slower than anticipated," he added.