By Nishant Arora New Delhi, Jan 22 : EV market leader Hero Electric is super excited at the government's push towards EV adoption, but needs to fire-fight every day to neutralise the forces that come with hidden agenda to derail the EV adoption, according to its CEO Sohinder Gill. Gill told IANS that the intent of the government is clear and very positive on EV penetration, and the company is hell-bent to help the Centre achieve its target. "However, issues that hinder the pace of growth do crop up during the journey from intent to reality. Some of these issues are interposed by the policy-makers who are not fully aware of the ground realities, and some others are slipped into inconspicuously by the lobbies that are threatened by such disruptive policies," Gill emphasised. Despite the "malicious and carefully-curated incessant campaigns" against the company, it ended the calendar year 2022 on a high note, with e-scooters sales crossing the one-lakh mark. Gill said the company is now targeting 1 million unit sales in the coming years with an "upside of 25-35 per cent". Hero Electric is working towards building capacities, new products, localising components, R&D innovations etc. to fuel the EV revolution. According to Gill, the non-metro markets hold immense potential to fasten the electric mobility revolution in the country. "The electric two-wheeler is the belly of the market, which will see demand in Tier 2 and 3 markets as the sector overcomes the existing challenges," he told IANS. Hero Electric had partnered with Mahindra & Mahindra at the beginning of 2022 to manufacture Optima and NYX models at their Pithampur facility in Madhya Pradesh with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Hero Optima and NYX have been the highest-selling models in the category for the commercial and B2B segments, respectively. It also performed the ground-breaking ceremony of its plant in Ludhiana, followed by an MoU signing with the Rajasthan government for another greenfield plant. "We at Hero have over 850 touch-points with a widespread dealer and sub-dealer network extending beyond Tier 1 markets," said Gill. According to Gill, the focus has been on building the city speed segment, considering the commuter segment is a large part of the two-wheeler market, followed by transforming the last-mile delivery segment for faster EV adoption. "We will continue to focus on R&D, and improvise on drivetrains and batteries to augur a shift that will be catered to by higher-end products," the Hero Electric CEO said. "To strengthen the EV ecosystem, we plan to train and re-skill 25,000 mechanics, install charging stations, and expand our pan-India presence with 1,000 touch-points for faster EV adoption," he told IANS. The company is also focused on strengthening the EV charging network by partnering with EV tech companies such as Statiq, Bolt, Charzer, Massive Mobility, and Log9 Materials to install over 1 lakh charging points across the country. (Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in) /IANS