Hero MotoCorp And BPCL Partner To Set Up Charging Infrastructure For Electric Two-Wheelers

Hero MotoCorp has announced a partnership with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), to set up charging infrastructure for two-wheeled electric vehicles (EVs) across the country. The two-wheeler giant says the move is aligned with its vision to "be the future of Mobility" as the company gears up to introduce its first electric scooter later this year. Hero MotoCorp says it has become the first automotive OEM to tie up with the leading Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to set up charging infrastructure. The collaboration will the two brands set up charging stations for EVs at the existing nationwide energy station network. They may broaden the collaboration to develop more synergies within the EV ecosystem and adjacent business verticals, the company said in a statement. 

Hero MotoCorp Chairman, MD, and CEO Pawan Munjal

Speaking about the collaboration, Dr Pawan Munjal, Chairman and CEO, Hero MotoCorp said, "Hero MotoCorp has always been at the forefront of propelling the industry and leading it into the future. Once again, as the automotive and mobility sectors are poised to evolve, we are taking strategic steps to lead this evolution. Through our endeavors towards both organic and inorganic business expansion, we are poised to accelerate the growth of emerging mobility trends. In addition to developing world-class and tech-driven sustainable emerging mobility solutions, we are also making significant efforts towards building a robust EV ecosystem and offering the most advanced services to customers. The partnership with BPCL, which is already at the forefront of customer energy solutions, will be beneficial for both the EV segment and customers. This collaboration will also unlock opportunities for asset allocation and expansion in the future."

Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & MD, BPCL, added, "Bharat Petroleum has been pioneers in providing innovative mobility-related solutions to consumers in the field of energy. Our Pure for Sure customer promise launched at the turn of the century brought in a whole new paradigm in consumer trust and transparency at the point of sale and our expansive digital embrace has added new dimensions in convenience and personalization thereby enriching our customer engagement processes. As we step into the exciting phase of the energy transition, BPCL will continue to be at the forefront of accelerating the spread of clean energy in the country and will be creating a network of 7000 Energy Stations across the country with EV charging leading our endeavour." 

Hero's upcoming electric scooter was teased at the company's 10th-anniversary celebrations in August 2021.

In the first phase, charging stations will be set up across nine cities starting with Delhi and Bengaluru. The charging network will be then expanded across the country with the aim to establish a high density of charging stations. Each charging station will feature multiple charging points including DC and AC chargers. These will be common to a variety of electric two-wheelers. The manufacturer further said that the entire user charging experience will be controlled by a Hero MotoCorp Mobile-App and will be a cashless transaction model.

Back in September 2021, Bharat Petroleum announced its plans of converting 7,000 of its existing retail outlets into Energy Stations that would be used not for dispensing petrol and diesel but also have EV charging facility in the medium to long term scenario.