Hero MotoCorp Unveils New Brand ‘Vida’ For Electric Mobility; Stocks Slips To 52-Week Low

India's largest two-wheeler maker has unveiled its new brand ‘Vida' to launch alternatives for fossil fuel-powered mobility, including electric vehicles.

Introducing ‘Vida, Powered by Hero' at a carbon neutral event in Dubai, Pawan Munjal, chairman and chief executive officer at Hero MotoCorp Ltd., also announced a $100-million (about Rs 760 crore) “global sustainability fund”, according to an exchange filing on Friday.

The fund, it said, will aim to establish global partnerships, spearheaded by the BML Munjal University and Hero MotoCorp, with the objective of nurturing more than 10,000 entrepreneurs on ESG solutions.

• Vida will be the brand under which Hero MotoCorp's initiatives for emerging mobility solutions will be unveiled.

• The first initiative will be the launch of an electric vehicle on July 1.

• The production of the new Vida model will be done at Hero's ‘green' manufacturing facility in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.

• Dispatches to customers will begin later in 2022.

“Vida means life, and the brand's sole purpose is to create a positive impact on the world... The name is ‘perfect' for what we are building for our children and the next generation,” Munjal was quoted as saying in the exchange filing.

The electric mobility space in India is dominated by startups such as Ather Energy, Ola Electric Mobility, Bounce, BluSmart Mobility, Yulu, Torb, Revolt Motors and Exponent Energy. In January, Hero MotoCorp had said it would invest up to Rs 420 crore ($57 million) to increase its stake in electric scooter maker Ather Energy.

Vida's introduction comes amid a legal dispute between Vijay Kumar Munjal and Pawan Kumar Munjal over the use of the brand ‘Hero' for EV business by Hero MotoCorp after the Munjal cousins decided to go their separate ways following a family settlement in 2010.

Vijay Munjal, along with his son Naveen Munjal, who owns Hero Electric Vehicles Pvt., had approached the Delhi High Court in October seeking arbitration, claiming ownership over the use of the ‘Hero' brand for the EV business.

The Delhi High Court has referred the dispute for arbitration.

• Shares of Hero MotoCorp fell more than 4.8% to a 52-week low of Rs 2,301.1 apiece. The stock closed with 4.39% losses and logged the worst day in over a week

• Trading volume of the stock was nearly twice the 30-day average at this time of the day.

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the stock with a ‘sell' and a price target of Rs 2,080, an implied downside of 11.9%.

• Of the 51 analysts tracking the company, 33 maintain a ‘buy', 13 suggest a ‘hold' and five recommend a ‘sell', according to Bloomberg data. The 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 32.6%.