Hero Ultra targets 100,000 electric scooter sales next FY

Kochi, Feb 11 (UNI) Hero Ultra, a joint venture between Hero Exports Pvt. Ltd. and Ultra Motors of the United Kingdom, is targeting sale of 100,000 electric scooters in the 2008-09 financial year, company Director (marketing) Deba Ghoshal said today.

Talking to mediapersons here on the sidelines of the Kerala launch of the Hero Ultra range of electric two wheelers, Mr Ghoshal said the state was expected to contribute about eighth to nine per cent of the targetted sales next year.

Stating that the response to the two wheelers, introduced in April last year, had been good, Mr Ghoshal said the company had sold about 18,000 units so far and was hoping to take the figure to 25,000 by the end of this financial year.

''There is a big market for this vehicle across all age segments.

We are targeting to convert at least 20 per cent of the 1.2 million strong scooter market to electric two wheelers,'' he added.

Coming in eight variants, the two wheelers were priced between Rs Rs 14,200 and Rs 34,000 and could go upto a maximum speed of 60 km.

A single charge can last between 45 and 70 km, he said.

Company vice-president (sales and business development) Sanjeev Gandhi said as there was no requirement for driving licenses and registration for these vehicles, they were ideal for school going children in the age groups of 12 and 18 years.

The electric two wheelers are also ''completely green'' as they do not emit any pollution. The cost of running a vehicle worked out to only 10 paise per km, he claimed.

UNI ARC VV PAG1915