Hero Electric is one of the country’s most ubiquitous electric scooter makers. To spice up its lineup, the company has announced three new electric scooters that aim to bring connected technology to the brand. The three scooters are the Optima CX2.0 with a single battery, while the Optima CX5.0 and NYX have dual batteries.
Along with a stylish new design much improved from Hero Electric’s previously utilitarian design language comes new tech such as LED lights and DRLs. On the CX2.0 with its single battery, range is a claimed 89km whereas on the CX5.0 and NYX, the dual batteries take the claimed range upto to 113km. Hero Electric says the battery can be fully charged within 3 hours.
Hero Electric touts the international character of the scooters, with Japanese motors and German ECUs as well as connected features such as ‘hibernating battery technology’ and increased charging efficiency.
At the launch, Naveen Munjal, MD of Hero Electric, said, “After 15 years of unwavering commitment towards building India's electric vehicle ecosystem, we are fully dedicated to realizing the country's electric mobility mission. Our continuous efforts are focused on bringing this vision to life sooner rather than later. Each of our products has undergone an exhaustive R&D process with a primary focus on ensuring customer safety. In tandem with this, we have also worked closely with our partners to cater to the surging demand for EVs in the country. As a result, we are proud to announce that we are all set to roll out over 1 million vehicles annually from our manufacturing units."
The CX2.0 will be available in matte blue and black colour schemes, while the CX5.0 will be available with matte blue and matte maroon colour options. The NYX meanwhile will only have glossy black-and-white colour schemes. The new Hero Electric scooters are priced between ₹85,000 and go all the way up to ₹1.3 lakh.
It is interesting to note here that the Government of India has recently stopped FAME-2 subsidies for Hero Electric and Okinawa. According to the Minister of Heavy Industries, SOPs under the EV policy have been put on hold until the companies provide sufficient evidence to show their compliance with phased manufacturing plan (PMP) timelines. Both companies have apparently failed to localise their vehicles to the level that the FAME subsidy requires, as they import electric scooter components from China.