Hero Electric, the wholly owned subsidiary of the Hero Group, has decided to strengthen its dealership network in the southern states for its electric vehicle (EV) segment.

Naveen Munjal, Hero Electric's Managing Director, said, “We have 160 dealership network across the country and 24 in Tamil Nadu.”

“We are doubling our dealership network in the South to reach out to a wider segment of people not only in big cities but also in Tier II towns,” Mr. Munjal said.

The company has also planned to launch a new series of electric scooters in the low and high speed category.

“A new variant in the Hero Optima and Maxi range would be launched shortly” Mr. Munjal added.

He also said that it would mainly focus on educating the dealers on the advantages of EVs with the intention that they would educate the customers.

At present, the vehicles are manufactured from the company’s plant at Ludhiana in Punjab.

The company has also announced an investment of around Rs 80 crore to expand its production capacity to 1,30,000 units from 70,000 units.

The company, which entered the electric vehicle segment in 2007, targets sales of around 70,000 units in the existing fiscal. The company has sold about 21,000 units during the last fiscal.

The company would be rolling out a new variant in July 2008.

"The new vehicle is expected to hit the market by July 2008 and it is in finishing stage", Munjal said declining to give out any details.

Hero Electric has also announced that the company was in acquisition talks with two Indian firms.

The company has reserved Rs 200 million ($5 million) for this.

At present, Hero Electric imports controllers, motors, batteries and battery charges for its vehicles from various countries.