Hero Electronix’s Consumer Technology Business, Qubo, has marked its entry into the auto tech accessories business. The company has launched Qubo Smart Dash Cam and Tyre Inflators in the country. While the dashcam is priced at INR 4,290, the company is yet to announce the prices of Tyre Inflators. It is worth mentioning that Qubo has been selling its smart accessories products in India for over two years now.
Nikhil Rajpal, CEO, Hero Electronix, told Mobility Outlook, 'We will be very happy if the auto tech accessories segment contributes over 30% of our total smart accessories business. While this is the first launch in the segment, we will be launching more accessories for 2W as well as 4W accessories markets.'
According to analysts at Zion Market Research, the global car accessories market was capitalised at $487.79 billion in 2020 and is likely to cross almost $753.05 billion by the end of 2028, registering a CAGR of 6.4% from 2021 to 2028.
Rajpal added, 'There's massive opportunity in the auto tech accessories market. Imagine how safe a tracker or a dash cam can make your car drives and bike rides. We have some awesome automobile OEMs in the country, but they are kind of slow when it comes deploying tech accessories for facilitating such solutions in the country. We want to offer such solutions at very competitive price points.'
Focus 2W, 4W Market
With the Qubo brand, Hero Electronix wants to focus on the 2W and 4W automobile accessories market. The company is already working on launching trackers in India by September 2022.
'Today we have launched a dashcam and a tyre pressure inflator in India. While the former is more suited for the four-wheeler accessories market, the latter suits both 2W and 4W accessories markets. It will come in handy in cases of tyre punctures. The tracker that we are planning to launch by September-October this year will be an amazing accessory for the 2W segment,' shared Rajpal.
This yet-to-be-launched tracker, as Rajpal highlighted, will not only track the location of a vehicle but also possess the capability to contact emergency numbers in case of accidents and various other emergencies. The company expects the two-wheeler auto accessories market to contribute more to its sales two-three years down the line.
'I think there is more volume in two-wheelers. You need to get the product and the price point right. The launch of Hero Electronix Qubo trackers for two-wheelers will be a great addition to our product portfolio. There are over 20 million bikes sold in India every year. It's one of the biggest markets in the country. I think most of us would want to equip a tracker in our bike if it is available at a price point south of INR 3,000,' explained Rajpal.
In-house Software
The company claims to have designed this dashcam end-to-end in India. It also noted that all the software layers have been developed in house by the Hero Electronix team. As there are no manufacturers of sensors, cameras or semiconductor chips in India, Hero Electronix is importing all these from other countries. The company, for the record, has already acquired the likes of Tessolve (Semiconductor Services) and Zenatix (IoT Services).
'About 30% to 40% of the cost of a smart product consists of its software. This is one aspect that has been developed from scratch by the Hero Electronix team,' shared Rajpal.
The company's team, in a nutshell, has developed all the patches of the software, including the firmware and cloud. Most of the accessories in its portfolio are enabled with the capability of carrying out edge as well as cloud computations. For example, analysing a situation like an accident using a tracker can be done on edge to call for help immediately, whereas storing data and analysing vehicle data can be done on the cloud.
Focus - End-consumer
Qubo, at the moment, is focused on the end-consumer market. It simply means that Hero Electronix has no immediate plans to reach out to OEMs for any kind of sales. However, sometime next year onwards, the company might start reaching out to 2W and 4W OEMs for possible collaborations and synergies. Only a few 4W OEMs sell car models retrofitted with dashcams in the country.
The company is also working on finalising the subscription models for its software platform in India. At the moment, it is retailing these solutions bundled with the existing product range. This cost, at the later stages of product ownership for the customer, as per Rajpal, will be 'very nominal.' He said, 'We will have to deploy our cloud platforms and that will incur some cost.' For the uninitiated, Hero Electronix has become one of the first few companies to host its cloud infrastructure in India.
The company claimed that its smart home products are already selling in more than 100 cities in India and a few international destinations. It aims to retail its new auto tech accessories range in more international locations. 'We are already selling in Dubai. While India has enough to do, we will still be planning and thinking about scaling our international presence. It would only be towards the end of the year,' said Rajpal.
Hero Electronix is selling Qubo Smart Dash Cam via offline as well as online channels, including Amazon and Qubo World.