Hero Electric, an India-headquartered electric bike manufacturer spun off by two-wheeler producer Hero MotoCorp, has raised Rs 2.2bn ($29.5m) in series B funding, Forbes India reported on Sunday.
Investment manager Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) led the round, which also featured Oaks Asset Management, the private equity firm formerly known as Alpha Capital, which had provided $22m for the company in 2018.
Hero Electric intends to launch its electric bicycles and motorcycles later this year, having partnered Taiwan-based peer Gogoro in a bid to introduce the latter’s battery swapping technology in India.
The company will use the money to boost its manufacturing capabilities, ramp up research and development (R&D) efforts, improve its technology and expand its market presence.
Naveen Munjal, managing director for Hero Electric, said: “Hero aims to sell over 1 million units every year over the next couple of years. Despite the pandemic, the company is poised to grow at over two times from the last fiscal [year].”
