Hero Electric Reports Zero Dispatches In April Due To Chip Shortage

Hero Electric Pvt. Ltd. clocked zero dispatches to dealers in April, as the ongoing global chip shortage stalled production of its electric scooters.

The Naveen Munjal-led company is experiencing extreme chip shortage and supply-chain constraints, according to a statement. The automotive industry is still struggling with international chip shortage, leading to loss of production. Hero Electric was hit by the same and posted zero dispatches in April 2022.

"This has further increased the waiting list for its customers to 60-plus days and some of the dealerships have no stock to display," the company said.

Hero Electric CEO Sohinder Gill described the situation as like putting an emergency brake on a fast-moving train. "Our sales were almost doubling month-on-month and we somehow managed with sourcing from different geographies but the war (Ukraine) collapsed a major supply chain resulting in this disruption," he said.

The company has geared up alternate sources and would soon resume production, Gill said. "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."

On electric scooters catching fire, Gill said these are "awakening call for the industry", adding "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".