Hero has filed a number of trademarks pertaining to the name 'Vida', which is likely to be the sub-brand under which it will sell its electric two-wheelers.

• Trademarks include Vida EV, Vida Electric

• Hero MotoCorp cannot sell EVs with the Hero name

• First e-scooter expected by March 2022

An understanding between Hero MotoCorp and Hero Electric means that Hero MotoCorp cannot sell any EVs with the Hero name. But Hero MotoCorp certainly plans to manufacture and sell its own electric two-wheelers. It's readying its debut product, an electric scooter, for launch by March 2022, and has also struck an agreement with Taiwanese company Gogoro for battery swapping technology.

It now appears that it will market its upcoming electric two-wheelers under a new sub-brand called Vida. The company recently filed a number of trademarks pertaining to the name Vida, including Vida MotoCorp, Vida EV, Vida Electric, Vida Scooters and even Vida Motorcycles. This also hints at the possibility that Hero is working on an electric motorcycle for the future.

A prototype of Hero's upcoming electric scooter was shown virtually in August this year as part of the company's 10th anniversary celebrations. It seems to employ a mid-mounted motor and is expected to be a mass-market product priced around the Rs 1 lakh mark.