Hero Electric Hit By Semiconductor Chip Shortage, Dispatches 0 Units In April
Highlights
- Supply chain disruption saw Hero Electric dispatch zero units in April
- Hero Electric has assured production will resume soon at its plants
- The company is using the downtime to ramp-up production at its factories
The semiconductor chip shortage has finally hit domestic electric two-wheeler giant Hero Electric as the company announced that it posted zero dispatches in April 2022. The company further revealed that the waiting period for its electric offerings has gone up to 60 days, while certain dealerships do not have stock to display at the moment. Hero Electric is the leader in the Indian electric two-wheeler segment by volume and the company said it's working on battling the supply chain constraints in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Also Read: Hero Electric Partners With EVIFY To Transform Last-Mile Delivery Services
Speaking on the semiconductor chip shortage, Sohinder Gill, CEO - Hero Electric, said, "Our sales were almost doubling month on month and we somehow managed with sourcing from different geographies but the war collapsed a major supply chain resulting in this disruption. Meanwhile, we are using this time to enhance our plant capacity to increase our production volumes as well as revisit our systems and processes related to batteries to further reinforce the quality assurance of our bikes."
Gill also spoke about improving the quality levels of electric vehicles in the wake of the recent fire incidents. He said, "The recent happenings of fire incidents is an awakening call for the industry and we believe that even the best of the companies should introspect and constantly improve their designs and quality to repose confidence in the electric mobility that is going through such a robust growth path."
Also Read: Hero Electric Rolls Out First Electric Scooter Produced At Mahindra's Pithampur Facility
Apologising to customers for the extended waiting period, Gill assured them that the company has geared up alternate sources and would soon resume production. However, the company has not revealed when it plans to resume production of its electric scooters. Meanwhile, Hero Electric said it will be using this "downtime" to ramp up production capacity at its Ludhiana and Pithampur plants. It will also work towards something the supply chain flow. The company is also enhancing its battery testing through audits of the battery production factories.