Greater Noida, Feb 6 (IANS): Bullish on the countrys electric vehicle dream, Hero Cycles has invested Rs 600 crore for a separate e-cycles manufacturing unit in Ludhiana which the company would unveil to the world in August, Pankaj M. Munjal, Chairman and MD of the company said on Thursday.

The facility will have the production capacity of nearly 20 lakh e-cycle units annually, Munjal told IANS on the sidelines of 'Auto Expo 2020' here.

According to him, the company found via a recent study that in Europe, 1.2 lakh e-cars were sold in comparison to 30 lakh e-bikes in a year.

"It is clear that market leader will be e-bikes. The electric bicycles will lead the e-revolution globally. In India, if 5-10 thousands electric cars will be sold in a month, the number for e-cycles would be over 20,000 in a month. We aim to manufacture 10 lakh e-cycles in a year," Munjal told IANS.

The company's new e-bike facility in Ludhiana has a capacity of 20 lakh units a year.

Hero Cycles last month acquired a stake in German premium e-bike maker HNF Nicolai for an undisclosed sum.

The company also showcased e-bikes from HNF Nicola at the motor show.

Ludhiana-based Hero Cycles, which was incorporated in 1966, has a manufacturing capacity of 7.5 million bicycles per year.

It has manufacturing units in Ludhiana, Bihar's Bihta and Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad.

"With e-cycles, carbon emissions will be reduced to a great extent. I would request that the government should look at the ground reality and make future plans to promote e-cycles. If there is a gap, they should call us and discuss," Munjal noted.

According to Naveen Munjal, Managing Director of Hero Electric, being the pioneer in electric vehicles, Hero Electric aims to be at the forefront of the electric mobility revolution by providing technologically advanced products to meet the growing aspirations of our customers.

"We are confident to drive the vision of greener and cleaner future as we further move ahead into a new era of providing sustainable mobility solutions to align with governments vision to electrify all vehicles in the country by 2030," Naveen told IANS.

"Auto Expo 2020 marks a significant occasion in the journey of Hero Electric towards a greener and sustainable future, providing smart mobility solutions to new-age, tech-savvy customer," he added.