Hero International, the UK-headquartered European bike company owned by India’s Hero Cycles, has announced a new e-bike assembly line within its Trafford Park manufacturing facility in Manchester. The new line will produce around 50,000 e-bikes in three years, before scaling up to 30,000 bikes a year.

Hero claims to be the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world, producing around six million bikes a year. While the majority are sold in India, the firm has broader horizons.

In 2019, the firm moved its Global Design Centre to Manchester and it then set up a new international headquarters in London last year with a view to giving its e-bike business a major push worldwide.

It currently sells in the UK under the Insync brand name.

“We are excited to expand our capabilities in Manchester to locally produce technologically advanced cycles and e-cycles that are extremely efficient, low-carbon personal mobility solutions,” commented Hero chair, Pankaj Munjal.

“Our new facility will enhance the cost competitiveness of our products in the UK and the European region, making them more affordable; it will boost local innovation and exports from the UK.

“With our integrated ecosystem of Global Design Centres, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across geographies and strategic partnerships for R&D, Hero International will become a leading cycle and e-cycles maker by 2025.”