[Aditya]

Hero MotoCorp will not be able to use the “Hero” brand name for any type of electric vehicle. This is because the name has been allotted to Hero Electric. Naveen Munjal – the nephew of Pawan Munjal, the Chairman, MD and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, runs the company.

Hero Electric has been in the electric two-wheeler business since 2007. A settlement in 2010 between the members of the Munjal family had seen various businesses under the 'Hero' brand name being allocated to Pawan Munjal, Vijay Munjal, Sunil Munjal and Pankaj Munjal. These businesses include two-wheelers, cycles, insurance, realty, electric vehicles, components and education.



Due to this settlement, Hero MotoCorp is now prohibited from using the 'Hero' brand name for electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers or four-wheelers for personal-consumer use, or the commercial market. Naveen Munjal has stated that any violation will lead to legal action. While other members of the family are not prohibited from starting competing businesses, they will have to use different names.

With competition in the electric two-wheeler market heating up, this is a setback for Hero MotoCorp as Hero is trusted name in the two-wheeler industry. The company plans to introduce its first electric vehicle in this fiscal but will need to launch it under a new brand name. Hero MotoCorp has also invested in Ather Energy.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

Source: ET Auto

[Dhillon]

This was bound to happen. Mr. Naveen Munjal has invested a lot of time in HERO Electric and the brand is yet to achieve respectable numbers to turn profitable.
But I am sure that HERO Motocorp will find a legal loophole to come up with a name for their electric 2W that will make customers know that the brand belongs to HERO.

[Thilak29]

Hero Motor Corp has about 40% shareholding in Ather, with Hero electric gone it already has second footing elsewhere.

[CliffHanger]

Just add a 'v' with small font size after 'e' in Hero. Problem solved. Symbolizes Hero's EV range as well.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Just add a 'v' with small font size after 'e' in Hero. Problem solved.

Very smart suggestion , but it won't fly in the courts. I cannot launch a line of sneakers tomorrow called NIKEee or sell burgers called McBHPDonalds. The family agreement is very clear and it was created at a time when electric vehicles were mainly toys or built for compliance. Pawan Munjal didn't expect a future of them.

How will this end? I expect a major settlement with crores paid out to Hero Electric. The 'Hero' brand is too strong for Hero MotoCorp not to use on EVs. It's like Maruti not using 'Maruti' for its electric cars.

[deep_bang]

Well - the other way is to build a new brand - or push Ather since it's already known as a premium segment vehicle.

Something like - "ather - now with the nationwide support of Hero Motocorp."

Maruti did build the Nexa brand isnt it?

[am1m]

Does anyone else see Hero MotorCo taking over Ather completely one day and re-branding? Don't see how they will not want to use the 'Hero' brand there or on any other e-bike venture they launch.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

Well - the other way is to build a new brand - or push Ather since it's already known as a premium segment vehicle

Takes decades & thousands of crores to have built a trustworthy brand like "Hero" in the auto industry. Invest that money & time in a fresh new brand and there is no telling if it will click.

Maruti did build the Nexa brand isnt it?

For the sales channel more than the cars. The cars are still known as Maruti Ciaz, Maruti XL6 etc.

Originally Posted by am1m

Does anyone else see Hero MotorCo taking over Ather completely one day and re-branding?

Definitely. I think Hero's investment in Ather was to get their foot in the door and also ensure no one else like TVS partners with Ather. If they see potential, they'll certainly gobble Ather up.

[RT13]

About ten years ago I was with India’s leading branding agency and Hero Electric/Hero Eco was my project. We worked on the brand strategy, positioning vision, mission and values with Naveen Munjal, Gaurav Munjal and their father Vijay Munjal. And we created the logo and the brand language for it.

We’ve worked on more than one large Indian family business where the name is shared and the ‘family constitution’ as it’s called is quite clear in this case, as to which family can use the brand in which area. For example, you might not know this but this same Munjal family is also in the bicycle manufacturing business. But, the rights to the Hero brand for bicycles lies with one of the other Munjal families so they are OEM suppliers to other brands and also market their cycles under the name Kross. And if you look it up, there have been a fair number of legal wranglings over there at different times over the usage of the Hero brand in the cycle industry.

My point is that the family agreement is fairly water tight and doing silly things like adding an alphabet and suchlike doesn’t fly when it comes to trademarking a brand (I’m in the business, I know).

Also, I have to hand it to Naveen Munjal, he’s been at it a long time. Ten years ago the two wheeler electric vehicle industry was a largely unorganised space with all kinds of grey market kit imports being assembled and whatnot. He’s stayed in the game, made some smart global acquisitions (European pedelecs, ebikes and so on) and now over the last two or three years, with the winds of change setting in, they are poised to scale. Of course there’s new and intense competition by way of startups like Ather and Ola Electric but those are the guys who ignited and expanded the market IMO and Hero Eco is in a decent place if they can ramp up. Could they be acquired by Hero Motocorp? Maybe, but I personally doubt it - if that was an option I think it would’ve happened already IMO. Indian family businesses are funny old things, particularly where a company’s been around for generations. We’ve consulted with enough of them to know that there’s a wellspring of emotion and sentiment when it comes to legacy and it’s not all just about the balance sheet. Whatever happens now, it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.

[udaikalra01]

Hero recently partnered with Taiwanese EV manufacturer Gogoro. Is it possible that Hero will launch electric scooters under some brand like Hero-Gogoro? Gogoro follows battery swapping model in Taiwan. Their designs are pretty cool. Attaching pictures of Gogoro S range and their battery swap model.

[RT13]

Originally Posted by udaikalra01

Hero recently partnered with Taiwanese EV manufacturer Gogoro. Is it possible that Hero will launch electric scooters under some brand like Hero-Gogoroin

They can’t use Hero at all according to the terms of the agreement. In no way, shape or form. It’s air tight.

Nice looking designs those.