Naveen Munjal bets on India's demand for clean-energy electric vehicles

Mr. Naveen Munjan is Managing Director of Hero Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.

Hi my name is Rehaan Khaneja and this is the 20th podcast in the Leadership Speaks series where I interview the most successful and influential leaders of India.

INTRODUCTION

Mr. Naveen Munjal is Managing Director at Hero Electric Vehicles - India’s first and largest manufacturer of electric 2-wheelers.

Hero Electric has remained market leader in EVs in India for over for over a decade. Supported by their Zero Emission mission, Hero focuses on ecological 2-wheeler solutions and designs to make the country greener with ‘Zero Pollution’ transportation.

Mr. Munjal in this interview recounts how his early attempts at creating an EV market in India failed, but today, times have changed and so has the attitude of the buyer towards clean technologies.

"Just because something did not work in the past does not mean it won't in the future also. It might just mean that its time is yet to be right"

Watch Mr. Naveen Munjal recount his experience in first failing, trying again and then succeeding in the cutting-edge clean energy driven business:

KEY LEARNINGS

Here are my two key learnings from my interview with Mr.Munjal -

1st: "Just because something did not work in the past does not mean it won't in the future also. It might just mean that its time is yet to be right"

Thinking about Electric Vehicles in 2000-01 seemed like a visionary idea, but it was an idea ahead of its time. Products and ideas fail sometimes not because the product is bad, but because the market is not ready for it yet. But by 2022-233, the thought process of people in India and even the government is dramatically different towards environmental issues as compared to anytime before. The EV promotional campaigns that failed earlier have today become highly effective campaigns for buyers.

2nd: "In the Electric Vehicles, as is in any new paradigm in technology, we need to build not just the product, but also the infrastructure and ecosystem around it."

In other businesses, one vigorously protects themselves from the competition, but in EVs, the product owner also builds infrastructure - and that benefits everyone, including our competitors. When competitors grow, the market also grows and buyers become more educated. So in a way, competition ensures growth and progress in new and paradigm-changing businesses, and it is the lack of competition that would lead to failure.

Talking to Mr. Munjal has been super interesting. He did not let failures change his conviction. Sometimes the reasons for failure are because the timing was not right. He neither gave up, nor did he settle for something less and ordinary. Instead, he stayed firm on his path and focused on the bigger picture.

"Don't be afraid of failures. Failure is a constant. You must have conviction, and once convinced, have a long-term view on it."

- Naveen Munjal

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If you enjoyed Episode 20 of the Leadership Speaks. Series, please do like this blog and the video on Youtube! Your likes will make this a truly positive and encouraging experience for me and for other viewers like you. I'll be releasing my next Leadership Speaks interview soon. Till then, think positive, have big goals and focus on the road ahead.